Team Owner
A successful organization starts with its people.
This has long been the philosophy of Joe Gibbs. It helped carry him to three Super Bowl championships as head coach of the NFL's Washington Redskins and has been a defining principle behind building Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) into one of NASCAR's most successful race teams.
It also guides Gibbs' latest project: “Game Plan For Life”, which is the title of his New York Times Best Selling book and its corresponding ministry (www.gameplanforlife.com). Once again, Gibbs assembled an amazing team of 11 experts to respond to the issues a national survey revealed to be the most pressing in men's lives. The results are a modern day game plan for a successful life based on God's Word.
It is not surprising that JGR has experienced amazing success and growth since Gibbs founded the operation in 1991. It began its first season of racing in 1992 with just 18 crew members and JGR now employs close to 450 people, but despite the immense growth, the company remains defined by the same characteristics of its founder and owner, Joe Gibbs: Integrity, a relentless work ethic, determination, perseverance, and team building.
Those characteristics have been the driving force behind JGR's success which includes 145 overall wins in NASCAR, three NASCAR Cup Series championships (2000, 2002, and 2005) and back-to-back NASCAR Nationwide Series championships (2008 Owner's Champion and 2009 Driver's and Owner's Champions).
Team President
J.D. Gibbs was named president of Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) in October 1997 and during the past 13 years he has overseen the team's expansion from fielding just the No. 18 car in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series to adding the No. 20 car as the organization's second car in 1999 and then a third car via the No. 11 team in 2005. During that same time frame JGR has grown to include two NASCAR Nationwide Series teams, a driver development program, and most recently JGRMX – a motorcross team.
The team's growth, which now includes approximately 450 employees, has not hindered its overall success as the organization continues to be one of NASCAR's premiere race teams with three NASCAR Cup championships (2000, 2002 and 2005) to its credit and two NASCAR Nationwide Series Championships (2008 Owner's Championship and 2009 Owner's and Driver's Championships).
J.D. has been with JGR since he joined his father, Pro Football Hall of Fame Coach Joe Gibbs, in the task of launching the organization in 1992. During that time he has had the opportunity to experience nearly every facet of the business. In fact, he changed tires on the car that carried JGR to its first NASCAR victory – the 1993 Daytona 500. He also raced Late Model stock cars at short tracks throughout North Carolina, eventually advancing to professional NASCAR touring series by competing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, NASCAR Camping World Series East and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Ultimately, managing JGR is where J.D. felt the most comfortable.
Despite his comfort in the position, running an organization the size of JGR comes with its own set of challenges. One of the first big challenges arrived in 2004 when the organization's owner and founder decided to return to the NFL as head coach of the Washington Redskins. JGR never missed a beat despite and went on to capture its third NASCAR Cup Championship in 2005 under J.D.'s leadership.
