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Gibbs' Return A Boost

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By TONY FABRIZIO, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 23, 2008

Ask Tony Stewart what it means to have the boss back at Joe Gibbs Racing and he feigns fright.

"We're going to start changing all the codes on all the doors that go downstairs at the shop and keep him upstairs where he can't do much," Stewart said during the Sprint Cup preseason.

Gibbs actually is content to let his experts manage the technical end of his operation. He does not get involved in things such as race-day strategy, much to the relief of Stewart.

"We've never given him a radio with a button he can push to talk to anybody on," the driver says.

But the significance of Gibbs' return after a second and less glorious stint as Washington Redskins coach should not be underestimated.

Much is made of the fact Gibbs inspires and motivates, but his greater contributions are putting the right people in the right places and massaging egos. J.D. Gibbs, son of the 67-year-old Hall of Fame football coach, has performed ably in managing the day-to-day operations of JGR as team president. But Joe Gibbs' presence around his team is both calming and kinetic.

Stewart, who has won two championships under the Gibbs banner, is quick to change his tone about Gibbs after his initial jabs.

"There's just something about Joe that when he's in the shop, everybody's demeanor is different," he said.

Jimmy Makar, the team's senior vice president, expands on that observation.

"Typically, Joe brings the best out of the guys," he said. "He will spend a lot of time walking the floor and talking to anybody he sees - the floor sweeper, the guy in the body shop, the guys in the prep shop.

"He's genuinely concerned, and that comes across when you talk to him."

Racing Is Home

Sixteen years ago, Gibbs was a football coach venturing out of his element into NASCAR. He has become such a fixture in motor sports it almost seems he's a NASCAR team owner who ventured out of his comfort zone to coach football again.

In fact, that's how Gibbs sees himself.

"The whole time I was back in football, we knew it was going to be for a limited time," he said. "And we knew, Lord willing, that racing is going to be forever for our family. We have so many people now that are part of this racing family here, and we want to continue it into the future."

Gibbs jokes about the conversation he had with his wife, Pat, about returning to the Redskins in 2004.

"I said, 'What do you think about going back to coaching?'" he recalled. "And I remember, she looked at me and she goes, 'You're going to ruin your good name!' Two years ago, we were 5-11. I said, 'Well, we're about halfway there.'"

Gibbs did get the Redskins to the playoffs in two of his final three seasons, and team owner Dan Snyder wanted him to return in 2008. Gibbs opted for more time with his family, including sons J.D. and Coy, and six grandchildren, one of whom was diagnosed with leukemia in January 2007.

The family racing business is growing, too. Besides planning for a fourth Sprint Cup car for prodigious teenager Joey Logano, Coy Gibbs has started a supercross team.

Managing Tempers

Never has Gibbs' people-handling skills been in greater need at JGR. Not only does somebody have to keep the firebrand Stewart from self-destructing, but the team also has added ultra-talented but sometimes petulant Kyle Busch.

Many see that as a combustible combination. At minimum, there will be times when JGR doubles as race team and juvenile delinquent center, and Gibbs can minimize the damage.

Maybe it is coincidence, but it seems Gibbs already has made a difference. Busch had the best car in the Daytona 500, and Stewart had a chance to win on the final lap. Stewart and Busch finished 1-2 in the Nationwide Series race, and Denny Hamlin won one of the qualifying races.

"It's good to have the father figure around," said Mark Cronquist, JGR's longtime engine builder. "Joe, just because of who he is, can bring people back down. People don't get cocky when he's around.

"When Joe walks in, people's attitudes leave."

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