J.D. Gibbs said driver Denny Hamlin's maturity likely comes from his family's racing history. Credit: Autostock

Conversation: J.D. Gibbs

Before the 3M Performance 400 at Michigan somewhat punctured his bubble, Joe Gibbs Racing president J.D. Gibbs last Sunday morning was basking in the healthy light that his five primary race teams were creating this season.

Denny Hamlin got his first victory two weeks ago at Pocono. Credit: Autostock

Nextel Cup rookie of the year leader Denny Hamlin had just won the previous weekend, at Pocono and moved into the top 10 in the standings in the process. Despite being in recovery from a broken shoulder blade, defending Nextel Cup champion Tony Stewart was well placed in the 2006 standings.

And J.J. Yeley and Hamlin had flown from Michigan to Kentucky Speedway Saturday to compete in the Meijer 300 and finished second and third.

Gibbs sat down on Sunday morning at Michigan to discuss the progress and seasons of his three Nextel Cup drivers, the future of JGR's diversity and development program and how he feels about "his time" at Gibbs Racing.

Q: J.D., how has life changed for your No. 11 race team in the last week, especially, or the last month even, with the way Denny Hamlin has stepped up?

Gibbs: I don't know that it's just this week as much as [winning at Pocono] was the culmination of a long, whirlwind tour for him to get to where he is.

Really, two and a half or three years ago we started watching him and spent some time with him, when he was shaking down some Late Model cars for the diversity team that we'd started with Reggie White.

So we started a relationship then and said to Denny, 'Let's sign you up and do something,' even though we had nothing going on -- no Truck or Busch program for him.

Denny Hamlin has everything figured out on the track, and J.D. Gibbs said his driver has it off the track, too. Credit: Autostock

So we actually went and leased a low-budget Truck deal for him, I guess five or six rides. And he really just did a great job. Then he went from there to running the one Busch race [at the end of 2004] -- and everybody kind of knows the story from there.

This is really the culmination of all that, so I really wouldn't say much has changed, but I think everyone else, now, is kind of seeing what we've seen for a while.

Q: So I guess it would be especially neat if you said, 'and Denny hasn't changed a bit in that time.' But has he?

Gibbs: You know, my biggest concern with Denny isn't changes on the track or dealing with racecars or crews -- because he's really got a gift for that.

The hardest thing for anyone that age to deal with are all the changes off the track -- dealing with all the sponsors now, running the Busch Series and Nextel Cup and all the obligations you have.

You have to deal with people that now want to be your friend and you have to say 'Do they want to be my friend for me, or for what I have?' All the pressures that come off the track -- that's what I kind of worry about.

I think today he's been great. He'd done a really good job. It's all new to him but he's open to advice and direction and we've got good guys around him, so other than having a little more debt than he used to have, he hasn't really changed a whole lot.

Q: Does running your own family racing operation -- as Denny did -- maybe help you mature more quickly, and be able to filter out any bad influences you might be exposed to?

Joe Gibbs talks with Rick Hendrick. Credit: Autostock

Gibbs: Growing up, professional sports is all I've known since I was born, so what it does is it gives you a pretty good perspective on life. As well as things are going now and what a blessing that is, last year we were hurting -- just struggling.

So I think that's part of sports. Sports are kind of just a little microcosm of life. In life you can have hard days and good days and I think, for us, it just solidifies the fact from what I saw growing up, is that you can be on top today [and on the bottom tomorrow].

The hard thing about sports -- whether it's what we do in racing or what they do in football -- is that the whole world sees it. It's not like what you would experience in a regular business, in an office, where no one would see it.

In sports everyone sees it, so it's kind of a humbling sport.

Q: In light of that, what's it been like being around the FedEx family these days, because they stuck with you through some tough times?

Gibbs: We've got some of the best sponsors you could ask for. Norm Miller and Interstate Batteries started with us when we had nothing, and they've been a part of our family now for 15 years.

Obviously, Home Depot has been great, and they've been with us since 1999 and it's a neat family there. But with those guys, we had pretty quick success right off the bat, whereas with FedEx it was the opposite.

We were really, really struggling [last year], so to go through that with these guys, after they've invested in the company and in us, there was a lot of pressure and for us, I think it was really frustrating not to be able to let them see the fruits of their investments.

But I think now, going through the hard times kind of lets you see what people are made of, and that they're going to be behind you, no matter what. Everyone at FedEx, from [company founder] Fred Smith on down, has really supported us.

Interstate Batteries has partnered with Joe Gibbs Racing for 15 years. Credit: Autostock

And even last year in the worst, darkest days they were right there behind us, they didn't get panicked, didn't get worried and now we just tell them, we were just testing them -- that was part of the deal, we knew it was going to happen and we were just making them tough.

Q: With the way Hamlin, crew chief Mike Ford and the 11 crew has come on, do you re-evaluate your goals for this season, at any point?

Gibbs: I think the goals are probably the same, but our expectation of really hitting those goals might have changed a little bit. You always want to have making that top 10 as a goal and obviously rookie of the year is a big deal.

But if you do that good of a job, I think you'll be pretty close to making the top 10. And I think for us, that's what this sport has come down to [because] if you can knock that out, then hey, you've got as good of a shot as anyone to win the championship.

But really, we've learned a lot over the last few years. It's race by race, and we learned with Tony last year that you can't get focused too far out. You just try to take it week in and week out and I think our guys do a pretty good job of that.

Q: Looking at the 18 team of J.J. Yeley, how much of a challenge is it when compared to the way Denny's run, to keep the 18 bunch focused and pumped up?

Gibbs: It is hard, and we went through it last year. What was hard for us last year is that all the stuff was sitting there. The same stuff that Tony had, all our other drivers had -- Bobby [Labonte] and Jason [Leffler].

But it just didn't click. You have to get that right chemistry around each driver because each driver is different. Even our guys now, J.J. and Tony and Denny, are all pretty close, but they're still different.

J.J. Yeley has one top-10 this year and is 27th in the points. Credit: Autostock

So you have to figure out how to work with those guys and to get them what they need to be successful. So for us, really, the benefit is that we know we've got great guys and we know we've got great communications in the shop [because] we're really working hard on that.

And the benefit there is, for J.J., he's had a few races where he just hasn't finished. He's had three or four races where we had tire issues come up, or something else. I think if he had finished those races, now you're looking at a different picture -- a top 20 or top 18 program.

Right now we're just struggling with the view of it, because to someone from the outside, they might say, 'They're not very good,' but that's not the case -- they are pretty good.

Q: The last couple weeks have added an interesting dimension to the organization; with all the traveling the guys have had to do back and forth between Busch and Cup venues, who's responsible for all those logistics?

Gibbs: We've got a pretty good group back there at the shop. Steve DeSouza kind of heads up our Busch program and watches over that and Heath Cherry, another of our guys at the shop works, with him on that.

Really, the crew chiefs kind of sign off on all of that and we have a pretty good plan in place. It doesn't hurt that Denny has his own plane, now -- so he goes, 'I'll be happy to bill you back for that.'

So it works out pretty good. We've never really done the full season before, like we are now, so I'm sure a few days will pop up. [This] week I'm sure will be the most difficult but I think we got a good plan for that.

Meijer 300 Results Pos. Driver Start Make 1. D. Gilliland 4 Chevy 2. J.J. Yeley 10 Chevy 3. D. Hamlin 1 Chevy 4. M. Wallace 17 Dodge 5. A. Lewis 32 Ford 6. K. Harvick 13 Chevy 7. G. Biffle 30 Ford 8. D. Reutimann 25 Dodge 9. P. Menard 8 Chevy 10. S. Leicht 28 Ford • Complete results, click here • Driver standings, click here Top finisherJ.J. Yeley talks about his runner-up finish Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

Q: Saturday had to be a pretty big thrill for you, with J.J. and Denny fighting for the win and J.J. almost winning his first race?

Gibbs: I was at home watching it before I came to Michigan. It was a big deal. Our Busch program, for so many years, was a good program, with a lot of veterans coming through there, and some really good drivers.

But really, the last couple years, we've started bringing up some young guys and I think that has clicked with the guys in the Cup shop, who work closer with the guys in the Busch shop than they ever have before -- with Jason [Ratcliff] and Dave Rogers over there crew chiefing.

So I think for us it just kind of -- again, like Denny's success -- solidifies what we already knew, and that was that we were catching up on the rest of the sport, and that we were getting better.

I think now we've got two of the best guys out there in the Busch Series. Man, I wanted J.J. to win that thing, and I hated to see that last caution, but hats off to David Gilliland and those guys.

What a great story that was.

Q: Stepping out of your owner's shoes, what does that say about the series and the ability of a team to come in and win a race, like David Gilliland and his owner Clay Andrews did?

Gibbs: You know, the reality is, that just doesn't happen. I don't know how it happened. But obviously they had a good driver and those guys really did their homework.

They had a good crew. They were fast all weekend. We've been there in the Busch Series since 1998, '97, and I've never seen it happen like that. You've got some good son-of-a-guns out there, because you're beating all the Cup guys and all the good Busch teams.

So if I'm those guys I'm really going to enjoy that because that doesn't come along very often. I don't see that happening for another 10 years.

Q: JGR has got a serious driver development program, so what do you see happening with that?

Gibbs: Aric Almirola is coming through the Craftsman Truck Series, where we've got a great partnership with Wayne Spears and Spears Motorsports. That's been a great deal for Aric.

We've got him in a bunch of Busch cars this year. We'll probably do Truck again for him [in 2007] and add some more Busch onto it. We probably won't run a full deal [again in Busch] with J.J. and Denny, but they'll run a whole lot of Busch races.

Then we have a couple of other young guys that are really gifted. They're really young and they can't run [in NASCAR] until they're 18. We think the world of Joey Logano and we're running him in some Pro Cup stuff.

We have Marc Davis, who's a great young guy who just won [last Saturday night] at Hickory [N.C.], actually. That's his third win this season in the Limited Late Model stuff.

He's not even old enough to run Late Models yet, so we have a lot of good young guys and I think it's just neat for us to be able to invest in those guys like we did with Denny or J.J., and now we'll watch them have success.

And that's one of the best feelings you can have in this deal. It's the same thing you'd do with Tony.

J.D. Gibbs said Tony Stewart has transformed into a mentor for the team's two young drivers. Credit: Autostock

Q: Looking at Tony Stewart's team, what difference, if any, do you see in it and him between 2005 and 2006? If I were the competition, I might be real concerned because here's a late-season guy who's been pretty tough so far early this year.

Gibbs: I've got to be honest with you, me and my guys can't really figure that late-season deal out. I don't know why, but it just seems they click as time goes on.

But really the biggest thing I've seen in Tony is his role in really becoming a leader and a mentor. If you ask him questions, he gives you really good advice.

He's got great experience from all sorts of motorsports background. I think what he's learned to do is figure out that certain battles are worth fighting, and others he's not going to worry about.

I think he's figured out which ones are which, now, and that's let him enjoy life a little more. He enjoys what he loves, like his track in Eldora, which is an awesome deal for him. And he gets to race a little bit here and there.

But really, for the whole 20 group and Tony, they just have a maturity level, which in our sport is hard to find.

Q: In the football realm, is there any parallel you can draw between a player who might be of a similar temperament to Tony, had the success that Tony's had and has had to deal with that like he does?

Gibbs: I think there is. I think what you find is, when you get to that level, to the NFL, all those guys are extremely gifted. All of them are.

But, just like over here, where a lot of guys are extremely gifted -- but it's a little extra intangible that the really good ones have. I think you could see that in a bunch of the stars that my dad had, either before, or now.

Tony Stewart's only victory this year was at Martinsville in April. Credit: Autostock

And I think you can see that in Tony. He's got that little extra intangible. I couldn't tell you exactly what it is, and I don't think he could tell you exactly what it is.

But he's got that great gift for communication in a car and he's got that great feel on how to make those things go fast.

In any sport, I think you've got a bunch of guys that are really great, physically, but it's the whole mental edge they have that really makes them who they are.

Q: You could look at Joe Gibbs Racing and say this is really its second phase, when dad went back to football and this has become your baby, so assess where you are and where you want to go with the organization.

Gibbs: I think that what you've got to keep in mind is that he is coming back in a few years. So he reminds me of that and tells me not to get too comfortable over here.

So he'll be back in a few years so for us, and I think not so much me, but we have such a good structure at the shop. We have Jimmy Makar, who's been there since day one, and he can oversee a bunch of the technical side.

You've got Zippy [Stewart's crew chief, Greg Zipadelli] over there with Mike [Ford, Hamlin's crew chief] and Steve {Addington, Yeley's crew chief] and they've got a great feel for the at-track stuff.

You've got a lot of the guys at the shop that most people would never hear about or see that really have taken on a good bit of the leadership role after my dad left. We all kind of took on a little bit of the leadership, and it's really been a blessing to us.

Going through last year, when FedEx and Interstate stood by us -- and I think the guys in the shop -- they could have all gone somewhere else and gotten another job and probably made more money.

But the fact that they stood with us and went through all those hard times, I think now you know what you have there. So when you go through those hard times again you know those guys have got your back because you went through it.

That's what means the most to me. The Lord has really blessed us there with a great group of people that have really grown together.