Gibbs gunning for third title in four years

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C -- Joe Gibbs will be trying to do something in 2003 he hasn't done before: repeat as a champion.

He didn't do it as a coach in the NFL, and he hasn't done it as a car owner in NASCAR. Perhaps that proves how difficult it is to win championships in consecutive seasons.

Gibbs first won a Super Bowl title back in 1983 while coaching the Washington Redskins. The following season, Gibbs lost the Super Bowl to the Los Angeles Raiders.

Gibbs and the Skins won the NFL title again in 1988 but didn't in 1989. In 1992, Washington won its final Super Bowl under Gibbs. But in 1993, the Redskins were nowhere to be found.

Gibbs moved to NASCAR as a team owner, and he won another championship in 2000 with Bobby Labonte. But the following season, Labonte ended up sixth in the Winston Cup points standings.

So where will Tony Stewart end up this year? He was the Winston Cup champion in 2002, and many consider Stewart one of the top contenders to repeat. If he does go back-to-back, he'll be the first driver to do so since Jeff Gordon won titles in 1997 and '98.

More Info  Bobby Labonte's Official site  Labonte's Video Highlights

Joe Gibbs Racing hasn't been sitting still, of course. The most visible change has been the switch from the Pontiac Grand Prix - with which both Stewart and Labonte won their titles - to the new Chevrolet Monte Carlo. JGR was heavily involved in the development of the new Grand Prix but switched makes anyway.

The change probably won't affect the team too much, for bodies would have been switched anyway. It's not a giant undertaking like Penske Racing going from Ford to Dodge, but it is different.

The biggest change within the organization is a switch of crew chiefs on Labonte's team. Jimmy Makar, Labonte's former crew chief, was promoted to team manager. Michael "Fatback" McSwain, who had three successful seasons with Ricky Rudd and Robert Yates Racing, was hired to lead Labonte's team.

	Joe Gibbs (above) and Bobby Labonte (below) are prepping for a ninth season together. Credit: Autostock

"I'm enjoying it," Labonte said of the transition. "We've talked quite a bit during the offseason and kind of gotten a game plan together. I just feel comfortable with him talking to me in my ear when I'm headed to the race track, on the race track and communicating back and forth. He has driven some cars before.

"He's built cars, so when I relay something back to him I think it pretty well hits home. He kind of understands it a whole lot better, so that's good for us to talk about.

"So far, it's been real good. I'm really excited about it. I think he is pumped up. I think he is excited. I think he has confidence in me that we're going to go out there and run really good and hopefully win races and win a championship."

The move has repercussions throughout the organization. Makar, as talented a mechanic as there is in the Winston Cup garage area, will be freed up to work on some big-picture projects.

"As a group, we're going to be able to deal with things better - just building better cars, answering questions that we have within our

organization, have people be able to work on projects and finish some things we haven't been able to do in the past," said Greg Zipadelli, Stewart's crew chief. "It's really exciting."

Of course, coming into a season as champion brings a lot of confidence.

"There are still a lot of things I want to do in Winston Cup, but I don't feel like I have to prove something to everybody by winning a championship," Stewart said. "We've won a championship now, so we've proven we can do that.

"My goal is to have fun this year, strictly to have fun. If we win another championship with it, great. If we don't win, as long as we have fun and we know that every week we gave 100 percent, we'll take exactly whatever if gives us."