Gibbs moving to Chevy

JOLIET, Ill. -- Joe Gibbs confirmed his team's rumored switch to Chevrolet on Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway, citing the ability to benchmark themselves against other prevalent Chevrolet teams as the predominant reason for the change.

"Pontiac was great. We finished second in points twice with them and won a championship," Gibbs said. "Our thought process was that they couldn't do anything more to help us. When we make a decision on our team, we all sit in the front office and make a decision together.

Credit: Autostock

"We've been thinking about this for a while. Starting next year, we'll be able to benchmark our cars against other cars. We thought we'd be better off in that situation. That's really the reason behind it."

Though instrumental in the development of the 2003 Pontiac, Joe Gibbs Racing also built a Chevrolet in order to test and compare numbers.

The team plans to test both makes Monday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and if they deem it beneficial, may even field Chevrolets on the track before this season is out.

Gibbs said no thought was given to leaving General Motors in favor of Ford or Dodge.

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"It's a partnership for me, one that goes back over the years," said Gibbs of his relationship with GM. "Over an 11-year period you have a lot of downs. What happens when you hit bottom? We've had that, and every single time I contacted GM as a partner they stepped up. So I look at it as, now that you're successful, that's where your loyalties should belong."

Losing JGR is a large blow for Pontiac, but NASCAR group manager for GM Racing Doug Duchardt said several teams have shown interest in joining the Pontiac family.

"Along with (the Gibbs change) there will be obvious questions about the situation for Pontiac," Duchardt said. "The first thing I need to clear up is that Pontiac will be racing in 2003. The new Pontiac was approved in late June, so we're very excited about the new car.

"We're in negotiations with some teams. I've been contacted by quite a few teams about potentially becoming Pontiacs. We're quite confident we'll have a great lineup."