Well the rumors are done and the decision has been made that Joe Gibbs Racing is switching to Toyota. The formal announcement was made on Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at press conference that was televised by Speed at 11am. Answering questions at the press conference was drivers Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin and crew chiefs Greg Zipadelli, Mike Ford, and Steve Addington. Along with them was President of Joe Gibbs Racing, JD Gibbs; head of the engine building department, Mark Cronquist; vice president of Toyota Motorsports and president and CEO of Toyota Racing Development, USA, Jim Aust; and senior vice president of racing operations for Joe Gibbs Racing, Jimmy Makar.
Questions were asked and answers were given. Yet only one main question really mattered. Why after 16 successful years with GM, in both Pontiac and Chevrolet, countless wins, and 3 Series Championships does Joe Gibbs Racing feel the need to make the switch? The answer is simple. Joe Gibbs racing wants to be the big dog among the manufacturer. That could never happen with GM because of the top-notch teams that Hendrick Motorsports has. With Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing can climb into the driver seat so to speak and be able to dominate among the rest of the Toyota teams.
This a point in racing that only the most dedicated of fans will understand. It is not about the car, it is not about Toyota being better than GM, what is boils down to is that Joe Gibbs Racing will be the flagship team for Toyota. JGR will be the one calling the shots, much like Hendrick motorsports does with GM. JGR will be the who Toyota listens to, they will be the ones that Toyota gets the job done for. JGR will be the only opinion that matters.
Questions were asked and answers were given. Yet only one main question really mattered. Why after 16 successful years with GM, in both Pontiac and Chevrolet, countless wins, and 3 Series Championships does Joe Gibbs Racing feel the need to make the switch? The answer is simple. Joe Gibbs racing wants to be the big dog among the manufacturer. That could never happen with GM because of the top-notch teams that Hendrick Motorsports has. With Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing can climb into the driver seat so to speak and be able to dominate among the rest of the Toyota teams.
This a point in racing that only the most dedicated of fans will understand. It is not about the car, it is not about Toyota being better than GM, what is boils down to is that Joe Gibbs Racing will be the flagship team for Toyota. JGR will be the one calling the shots, much like Hendrick motorsports does with GM. JGR will be the who Toyota listens to, they will be the ones that Toyota gets the job done for. JGR will be the only opinion that matters.
Comments
Look where this got them -- Gibbs sold out Tony Stewart's loyalty to GM to instead get Toyota's bonzo bucks. Stewart never liked this decision, and gave the kiss-off to the team that he brought two NASCAR championships to.
I don't really follow racing but you wrote an interesting article.
It only goes to show that when you've got that competitive drive, you'll go where the strongest, smartest, and in this case, fastest exists.
Joe Gibbs Racing....did they or did they not make the right decision? I liked this.....you kept my interest.
Good article although I don't know much about this either...
I dont really follow this, but good article
Good research and well presented info.
Joe Gibbs Racing wants to be the big dog with Toyota. There is no doubt they will be the best Toytota team. look at the competition. It has yet to be proved whether or Toyota (even with JGR running them) will be able to top GM or Ford.
Chris Schwarting
(Guest)
(Guest)
12/05/2007
The article that I just read isn't very convincing that Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is making the move for competitive reasons. According to the article Gibbs Racing feels that it can compete and consistantly be the best Toyota team on the track.
Q's 1) is there a sense that that many teams are going to switch to Toyota in the future?
2) If your switching to be a "flagship" for Toyota and Toyota hasn't done well against Chevy or Ford- Then why make the switch?
3) One positive to all this is that you can look at the Craftsman Truck Series and see that Toyota has dominated. How long will Gibbs racing take to make a Toyota a winner in NASCAR?
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