J.D. Gibbs
Team President

Joe Gibbs owns Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), but it’s his eldest son J.D. who’s had a key role in leading JGR since he was named president in October 1997.

During that time, J.D. has overseen the team’s expansion from fielding just the No. 18 car in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, to two cars with the addition of Tony Stewart and the No. 20 team in 1999, to three cars in 2005 via the No. 11 team.  JGR has also grown to include two NASCAR Nationwide Series teams and a driver development program.

“When we first started JGR, you could pretty much walk into the shop and take any title you wanted,” said J.D., who in JGR’s early years changed front tires on the No. 18 Interstate Batteries car for the team’s first-ever driver Dale Jarrett.  “There were only about 15 guys in the whole shop, so you knew everybody.  We got into NASCAR at a perfect time, just as the sport really started to take off.  The fan base, the TV ratings, the awareness – it started surpassing some of the other sports.  You fast forward to now – NASCAR has an impressive network television contract, we’re racing from the East Coast to the West Coast and almost everywhere in between – it’s really amazing.  We’ve gone from having one race team to now having three Sprint Cup teams, two Nationwide Series teams, a driver development program and over 430 employees.  It’s been an amazing ride.” 

Making that ride all the more enjoyable has been J.D.’s desire to experience almost every facet of the business.  He changed tires on the car that carried JGR to its first NASCAR victory – the 1993 Daytona 500.  He raced Late Model stock cars at short tracks throughout North Carolina.  He even advanced to professional NASCAR touring series, competing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, NASCAR Camping World Series East and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.  But it’s managing JGR where J.D. feels most comfortable, despite the incredible growth of the once small, family-owned team.

“As far as my title goes, things really haven’t changed,” said J.D.,, who has been at JGR’s helm while his father ended an 11-year hiatus from the NFL to return as head coach of the Washington Redskins in January 2004, and remains as president with Joe’s return to JGR in January 2008.  “The responsibilities have certainly grown, but what I actually do really hasn’t been any different.  We have more people and a lot more sponsors counting on us to make good decisions, but the scope of those decisions really hasn’t changed.  We always work in the best interests of our race team and the best interests of our sponsors, who are really partners with JGR.”

Just as Joe returned to an NFL that was drastically different from the one he left back in March 1993, J.D. presides over a race team that is drastically different than the one he joined full-time upon graduating from William & Mary in 1992.

In 2008, NASCAR continues to become a highly-competitive, high-dollar sport.  Single-car teams are nearly non-existent, two-car teams are becoming increasingly rare, and three-car teams are the norm.  J.D. and his father could see the sport’s evolution, and JGR took a major step forward in making itself a championship-caliber organization when they paired the No. 20 team and Tony Stewart with the venerable No. 18 team.

“Adding the No. 20 team made JGR a better race team,” said J.D., who saw the No. 18 team and then driver Bobby Labonte win the championship in 2000 before Stewart scored JGR’s second and third championships in 2002 and 2005, respectively.  “We were very careful before we went to two cars, because you can do a lot more damage than good if you don’t do it right.  The added resources of a second car made the No. 18 better, which in turn allowed the No. 20 car to be good right from the start.  We took our time and laid out a plan that has paid off, with three championships in the past eight years.

“Our plan continued with the addition of a third team (No. 11, with driver Denny Hamlin).  Just as two cars were better than one, three cars, if done right, are better than two.  Not so much because bigger is better, but because we’ve measured our growth and we have the right people in the right place.”

As the sport and JGR continue to evolve, J.D.’s role stays the same, albeit with increased pressure.  But according to his father, J.D. has proven himself a worthy leader.

“J.D. has been at JGR since the first day the race team started,” said Joe.  “He and the management team we have in place have been there for 17 years and they know every single thing about the way our race team was built.  I honestly don’t think you could have a better organization, and whatever comes J.D.’s way – good or bad – he’s primed to handle it.”

“It’s a family business,” adds J.D.  “Dad’s back here with us after his second stint with the Redskins.  For him to see what we built together, and for him to be able to leave and come back and for us to still be successful means a lot to him.  I’m sure he’s proud of me and what I’ve been through, and I’m proud of him for putting together the group of guys he put together.  They’re still together 17 years later.

“We just really feel like we have a good, strong family at JGR, and that’s hard to do.  Our guys fight for each other and sacrifice for each other and that’s what I’m most proud of.

“But as is always the case in sports, you’re only as good as your last race; only as good as your last game.  So our goal will always be to consistently compete for championships and wins.”

J.D. makes his home in Davidson, N.C., with his wife Melissa and their four boys – Jackson, Miller, Jason Dean and Zachary Taylor.

from the JGR Press Kit

Page last updated: February 26, 2008.