Conversation: Joe Gibbs

NEW YORK -- Joe Gibbs is a walking fairytale.

Multiple Super Bowl champion. Multiple Winston Cup champion. Loving husband and family man. The whole nine.

Gibbs led the Washington Redskins to three Super Bowl championships and his self-owned race team to a pair of Winston Cup titles, the latest of which he and driver Tony Stewart will garner tonight at New York's Manhattan Center during the annual NASCAR Winston Cup Series banquet.

AUDIO CLIPS Listen to the conversation / 2:28 Listen

Last Wednesday, Gibbs took time out from a whirlwind media schedule to talk shop with NASCAR.com's Marty Smith, about everything from his humble expectations a decade ago to his fiery driver's soft side to the new direction of Joe Gibbs Racing.

You've gotten two championships in the past three years. When you started this team a decade ago did ever dream you'd be in this position?

Gibbs: Never had a dream. In fact, 12 years ago we had 17 people and I thought that was the way it was always going to be. As a matter of fact, I was coaching, so I kind of thought I was going to continue to coach and other people were going to run the race team. I guess that still happened (laughing), because I'm not doing anything now.

There were many obstacles in 2002 for you guys away from the racetrack. Is there any more gratification that your guys persevered through those situations and still brought it home?

	Joe Gibbs Credit: Autostock

I think there were some things away from the racetrack, but I also think this was one of those years where there was a lot of adversity. This car had six DNFs. It was a tough year for everybody in NASCAR, so I look at it as this was a year where it took somebody tough to overcome a lot of things.

This was that kind of year. As opposed to Bobby's year (2000), when he finished every lap but nine and was consistent and won the week before Atlanta.

You've done it all -- Super Bowls, Winston Cup championships -- did you learn anything new in 2002?

I think in pro sports you're always learning something new. I say pro sports change, roughly, 30 percent per year - at least the ones I've been in. I laugh today, because everybody says the game is different today and I laugh and say hey, we had strikes, free agency. What do you want? We had it.

TONY STEWART  •  Driver Page  •  2002 Stats  •  Driver vs. Driver  •  Message Board  •  Store: Stewart gear!

NASCAR's pretty much the same thing. You're constantly changing. Pro sports is that way, so you better be on your feet and advancing and moving ahead. You better not be standing still, because if you are you're going to be left behind.

You guys met with President Bush earlier this week. What'd you talk about? Trade leadership tactics?

I proposed a 16 percent flat tax (laughing). No, just kidding. Actually, he was so good, so easy and very relaxed. He pretty much gave us just a tour of the Oval Office and explained everything about it, which I thought was real interesting.

And he and Tony exchanged a few things. He did make a couple of funny comments about Tony to Bob Nardelli from Home Depot, and we all got a good chuckle out of that.

Such as?

Such as, uh, hey, you hired the tough guy, huh? He said, 'The guy beats up photographers' (laughing), a funny comment like that. I laughed (laughing). I don't know if Tony did, but it was funny.

You've been around your share of intense athletes. Where does Tony rank?

I think that if you coach a football team or a race team, obviously everybody's personality is different and everybody reacts differently under pressure. So you're kind of used to guys - some guys handle it very calm, almost go to sleep. Other guys go berserk.

I think you kind of get used to that, and it's a matter of, we're not all the same. I think Tony happens to be a guy that, away from the racetrack, like here today, he's very relaxed, laid back, if anything kind of quiet. But you get him around the racetrack, he wears his emotions on his sleeve and at times has stepped over the line and made a mistake.

So I think it's a growing process for him and I think this week's going to be great for him, too. I think he's had a fun time with the press and I think the press has also had a chance to see the other side of him.

	Gibbs, Stewart and Zipadelli following lunch at the famed 21 Club in New York. Credit: Sheryl Creekmore/NASCAR

Stewart is perceived as a bit of a hothead, but also does much good that people don't see. Do you think there's any sort of misconception about him?

I think it's hard for most of us that would only read about Tony and the times he flares up or seeing him at the racetrack, I think it's hard for everybody to get a good perception of the total person. Because you don't get to see him - I've seen him come out of the hauler and spend 45 minutes with a child that had a problem and was in a wheel chair.

I saw him get very emotional at the racetrack once. We had a real tough situation with one Make-A-Wish kid. So there's a lot things like that I get to see, but probably a lot of people wouldn't get to see.

How about the 18 guys? How's the transition with "Fatback" McSwain going?

Real well. In fact, we had a great test the first day after Homestead was over with. It was our first test with Michael running the show and had a great test. Bobby was real fast.

We're really excited about that, and of course really excited that Jimmy (Makar) is going to get a chance that will help our whole organization grow as he directs to other things. Because it's gotten so big that you need something more than just two crew chiefs with just two cars.

Last question. Obviously you're switching to Chevrolet. What was the major determining factor there?

Mainly we just wanted to be in a bigger group. We felt that was important.