Gibbs has everything in place for title run

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Heading into the 2004 season, the talk about Joe Gibbs Racing surrounds a guy who won't be around much.

Joe Gibbs himself.

	Tony Stewart won a career-low two races in 2003. Credit: Sherryl Creekmore/NASCAR

Gibbs, the founder and owner of the team that bears his name, decided to return to the NFL, becoming head coach of the Washington Redskins, the same team he won three Super Bowls with before he came to NASCAR.

So what becomes of Joe Gibbs Racing now that Joe Gibbs isn't there any more? If you talk to the key players at Joe Gibbs Racing, nothing happens now that wouldn't have happened before Gibbs went back to football.

At least that what they're saying publicly. But in a team meeting not long after Gibbs decided to leave, president J.D. Gibbs - Joe's eldest son and his replacement at the top - joked about the pressure he faces.

"For gosh sakes, don't stop winning now," J.D. told them. "I will look like a moron."

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Drivers Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte don't believe that will happen. Stewart said it "would be a little bit of an adjustment," but J.D. has a great supporting cast surrounding him, including team manager Jimmy Makar.

"J.D.'s pretty nervous about his new role, but he underestimates his ability," Stewart said. "He's been at Joe Gibbs Racing since the day it opened its doors.

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"He's been through every situation that can happen with the race team, and he's got a great supporting cast with Jimmy Makar. Jimmy and J.D. have worked for 14 years now. I don't see it as big issue at all with the race team."

Both Stewart, Labonte and their sponsors signed long-term deals with Joe Gibbs Racing, so stability shouldn't be an issue.

"I'm excited, I know Tony's excited, the whole team's excited," Labonte said. "Everybody's excited that Joe's going to be able to do that. We feel like we're a strong enough race team with J.D. and all the people there."

Labonte said Joe had slowly stepped away from the team, spending more time playing golf, among other things.

	Bobby Labonte

"The timing was right," Labonte said. "I know we can go out there and win races - and win a championship, too - the way it is right now. There's nothing wrong that."

J.D. and the rest of the management team have been making most of the decisions in recent years, but they still liked getting Joe's blessing.

And though Joe Gibbs will only be a phone call away, he will be too immersed with football to be overly concerned with racing. That puts the pressure square on J.D.'s shoulders.

"I do. I'm sure I'll feel it as the season goes on," J.D. said. "Our job, really, in ownership is making sure the guys have everything they need to do what they need to do."

Joe Gibbs Racing lacks for nothing when it comes to the tools of the trade. Stewart and Labonte won four races between them last year, and both drivers have championship trophies on their mantle. Joe Gibbs Racing is clearly one of the top teams in the sport.

	Labonte (pictured) will use a Monte Carlo for the second straight year. Credit: Kevin Wakefield

That was proven last year, when Stewart finished seventh in points and Labonte eighth - and both were disappointed. Stewart talked about a recent discussion on that subject with his crew chief, Greg Zipadelli.

"It's pretty good when you can be a driver and a crew chief, and you can sit there and look at each other in the eye and be totally frustrated with finishing seventh in the points," Stewart said.

"We've got a lot to be proud of, and that's kind of the mentality that we're taking into the year with the team.

"It's been a good pick-me-up for the team, saying, 'We're all frustrated with seventh last year, but that shows us how competitive we all are.'"

Labonte, who worked with crew chief Michael McSwain for the first time last year, wasn't satisfied either.

"We probably just need to be a little bit better at every race track," Labonte said. "Our consistency level fluctuated too much last year. We need to be more consistent."

	Tony Stewart

Besides Stewart and Labonte, Joe Gibbs Racing fields a full-time Busch Series team for Mike Bliss and an "ABC" team for J.J. Yeley.

Gibbs signed the open-wheel star last year and will run Yeley in a combination ARCA, Busch and Cup schedule in 2004.

Joe Gibbs seems to have taken care of the future of his race team. Now it's up to the parties involved to take care of business.

"Joe wouldn't do anything that he didn't think J.D. and the rest of us couldn't handle," Stewart said. "He wouldn't desert the race team - and he hasn't.

"He's got a lot of great people in place. J.D. is a great leader. Jimmy Makar is a big help being team manager, and having two crew chiefs and two drivers to bounce ideas off of, I think things are going to work out just fine."