Joe Gibbs Racing
Template:NASCAR Owner Infobox Joe Gibbs Racing (also known as JGR) is a group of NASCAR racing teams owned by Joe Gibbs, who first started racing on the NASCAR circuit in 1991. The 2006 lineup of drivers associated with Joe Gibbs Racing includes NASCAR Championship winner Tony Stewart, J. J. Yeley, and Denny Hamlin.
The team is headquartered in Huntersville, North Carolina, which is near Charlotte.
Nextel Cup
Car #11 History
Previously JGR's research and development car, what is now the #11 car debuted at the 2003 Pepsi 400 as #80, driven by Mike Bliss and sponsored by Advair and finishing 26th. The car reamained idle until the 2004 Tropicana 400, when Bliss finished 31st in the ConAgra/Slim Jim machine. After a fourth place finish in the fall race at Richmond International Raceway, The team switched to #11, and Ricky Craven finished 30th at Talladega, and J.J. Yeley running two races in the car. The car went full-time in 2005, receiving sponsorship from FedEx and Jason Leffler driving. Leffler was released after struggling in 19 starts and Yeley, Terry Labonte, and Denny Hamlin finished out the season. Hamlin had the most starts (7) and finished in the top 10 three times. He was awarded the #11 FedEx Kinko's full-time ride in 2006 in addition to his full-time Busch schedule in the #20 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet. By the end of July 2006, Hamlin had three poles and three victories (the Budweiser Shootout and both Pocono Raceway races).
Car #18 History
The #18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet has been a part of JGR since its inception. It debuted at the 1992 Daytona 500 with Dale Jarrett driving the car to a 36th place finish after a crash. The team improved dramatically the next year, when Jarrett won the Daytona 500, and finished a then career-high 4th in points. After Jarrett slipped to 16th in points in 1994, Bobby Labonte took over, and drove the car until the end of 2005. Labonte has won 21 races in the car, and won the Winston Cup championship in 2000. Since then, Labonte has slipped, as his best finish in the points since then is 6th in 2001, and has not won since 2003. The team was progressing in 2004 until the team made a midseason firing of crew chief Michael McSwaim. McSwaim's firing affected the team greatly, as the team lost its playoff-contending status while Brandon Thomas was leading the team with just two races remaining in the 2004 regular season. Steve Addington, a Gibbs Busch Series crew chief, was named new crew chief for the 2005 season, but a rash of troubles, some caused by mechanical problems, continued to daunt the team, including a heart-breaking loss in the final turn at the Coca-Cola 600, and a poor finish in the 2005 season led to a split between Labonte and JGR after 11 successful seasons.
JGR announced on November 12 that Busch Series driver J. J. Yeley would replace Labonte in the #18 for 2006 and beyond. [1]
The team has consistently been sponsored by the partially Johnson Controls owned Interstate Batteries brand since 1992, although in recent years, GlaxoSmithKline and MBNA have alternated sponsorships for selected races. During the 2005 Coca-Cola 600, a Magdagascar-themed car was removed after qualifying when the #11 team failed to qualify, and for the race, the car bore FedEx colours.
(The Madagascar-themed car was eventually raced two weeks later, at the Pocono 500.)
Car #20 History
Tony Stewart trotted out the #20 Home Depot car at the 1999 Daytona 500, qualifying on the outside pole. He won three races as well as the NASCAR Rookie of the Year honors. Since then, the car has seen very few changes, as Stewart has won 24 races as well as the 2002 championship. He won his second championship in 2005. Home Depot has been the primary sponsor of the car since it's debut.
Tony Stewart picked the #20 for this car, as a way to honour a former car owner in sprint car action, Glen Neibel, whose yellow #20 sprint cars were known for having six-cylinder engines instead of eight-cylinder engines in order to run a lighter car.
Busch Series
Car #18 History
The current 18 car came under Gibbs control when he purchased the #44 Shell Oil Pontiac from Labonte, who had been operating the team under his control. The team made its debut under the Gibbs banner at the 1998 NAPA Auto Parts 300 with Stewart driving, he qualifed 9th but finished 31st after a crash. At the next week at Rockingham Speedway, Stewart qualified on the pole, led 60 laps and finished 2nd. Stewart ran a total of 22 races that year, with five top-five finishes and winning two pole positions. Labonte ran five races that year in that car in 1998, winning the Diamond Hill Plywood 200. The team switched to #18 with sponsorship from MBNA for 1999, but Labonte ran only one race before he suffered shoulder injuries in a qualifying crash at Darlington. Late in the year, Jason Leffler ran four races in the car that year, his best finish being a 20th at Memphis Motorsports Park.
Leffler ran the car full-time in 2000, winning a pole at Texas Motor Speedway, and posting three top-ten finishes. After that season, he left for Chip Ganassi Racing, and Jeff Purvis took his place. Purvis started off strong and was seventh in points but was released after the GNC Live Well 200 because of sponsorship issues. Mike McLaughlin took his place, and finished seventh in points that season. Despite not winning again in 2002, he moved up to fourth place in points. Howver, Gibbs wanted his son Coy a ride in the car, and forced McLaughlin out. In his rookie season, Gibbs had two top-ten finishes and finished runner-up to David Stremme for Rookie of the Year. Despite new sponsorship from Vigoro and The Home Depot, the team decided to run a part-time schedule in 2004, with Labonte returning for two races and J. J. Yeley running seventeen races, garnering four top-ten finishes. Yeley ran the car full-time in 2005, finishing in the top-ten twelve times and finishing 11th in points. Yeley will continue to run full-time in 2006.
Car #19 history
The 19 car debuted at the CarQuest Auto Parts 300, driven by Labonte and sponsored by Banquet Foods. Labonte ran seven races that year, with three top-tens. With Labonte moving to Petty Enterprises, JGR development driver Aric Almirola will run the car in seven races in 2006.
Car #20 history
- Main article: Diamond Ridge Motorsports
After JGR purchased the team from Gary Bechtel in 2000, the team got sponsorship from Porter-Cable. Depsite missing three races, driver Jeff Purvis had eleven top-tens and one pole, finishing 11th in points. The team switched to #20 for 2001, and Mike McLaughlin was named the driver. Without a major sponsor, McLaughlin was able to win the NASCAR Subway 300 and was sixth in points when Gibbs decided to shut down his team because of sponsorship problems. He moved to the 18, and finished seventh in points that year. Coy Gibbs ran five races in the #20 in 2002, with sponsorship from ConAgra Foods. His best finish was a 14th at Kentucky Speedway.
After he moved to the 18, Gibbs was replaced by Mike Bliss and Rockwell Automation came aboard as sponsor. Bliss had fourteen top-tens and finished tenth in points. In 2004, he pulled off a win at Lowe's Motor Speedway and had three poles. In 2005, Denny Hamlin came aboard, and posted eleven top-ten's and finished fifth points, the third-place finisher in rookie points. He will run the full schedule in the #20 in 2006.
Sources
