HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. -- Call it the Home Makeover (or maybe the Home Depot Makeover), NASCAR edition.

But this time, the interior decorators have it easy. They'll have plenty of money to work with, for one thing. And really, there isn't much that needs to be done in terms of cosmetic upgrades around the offices of Joe Gibbs Racing -- just lots of new Toyota signs to go up in place of the General Motors placards that have been prominently displayed for the last 16 years, since JGR opened its doors.

The real work will come after the signs have been switched out, and the engine-building begins in earnest for 2008 at JGR.

Moving forward

In securing its future, David Caraviello says Toyota is following traces from the past.

• Complete story, click here
• Rodman: Significant swap
• Gibbs switching to Toyota
• Message Board: Your thoughts
• Video: Watch news conference

Joe Gibbs Racing representatives and Toyota officials gathered alike at JGR headquarters Wednesday to make the switch official, to explain why it was made, and to assure everyone that star drivers Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin are on board with the jump to a foreign-based manufacturer.

Basically, the decision for the move to Toyota came down to this: JGR concluded it could be the leader in the Toyota field, garnering all the resources that come with that designation; or it could have continued to attempt to make its way with Chevrolet in what was a crowded environment at the top. In the end, Toyota won out.

"When you really look at the landscape of our sport, it's really changed a lot over the last few years," said J.D. Gibbs, president of JGR. "I think you see all the mergers and acquisitions and partnerships, and I think what that says is how difficult it is to run a business in this sport in this day and age. ...

"This was a long, hard, difficult process. It wasn't an easy decision. But we think it's the right decision. We think we have a shared vision with Toyota on what our future needs to look like, and what their future looks like in the sport."

Translation: When it came time to choosing between staying with GM and sharing resources and the spotlight with the likes of Hendrick Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc., or going over to Toyota and immediately marching to the head of the class, JGR chose the latter.

Beginning next season, JGR will field the Toyota Camrys for its three Nextel Cup teams and two Busch Series teams. While JGR will continue to build engines for its own cars in-house under the watchful supervision of Mark Cronquist, head of its engine-building department, it now will also have at its disposal the technological assistance and know-how of 220 engineers, engine builders and support staff at two Toyota Racing Development (TRD) facilities located in High Point, N.C., not far from the JGR shop, and in Costa Mesa, Calif.

"We think there are certain things we're going to be able to do with Toyota that we're going to have more of a leadership role in, and I think we're kind of excited about that going forward. I think this gives you that leadership role," Gibbs said. "I think within GM, hey, you've got four really strong teams [if JGR had remained with them]. So it's probably a little more difficult to say who has the leadership role there and which direction should you go."

The addition of JGR to a Toyota stable that already had previously included Bill Davis Racing, Team Red Bull and Michael Waltrip Racing is a major coup for the automobile manufacturer. The teams from all the current organizations running Camrys at the Cup level have struggled badly just to make races week to week.

Now, with JGR on board, the teams of Stewart, Hamlin and, beginning next year, Kyle Busch, equate to at least three Camrys being virtual locks to make each and every race of the season.

Stewart, currently running second in points, worked hard Wednesday to quiet rumors that he was unhappy about the pending move to Toyota. Stewart has a relationship with General Motors that stretches beyond his Cup team; they back teams he owns in two other racing series (USAC and Outlaws).

"This is not like any other professional sport. Things are constantly in a state of change," Stewart said. "I've had a great relationship with General Motors. From Day One, I was with GM -- and we've won a lot of races and a lot of championships. They've become part of my open-wheel program, and I'm very proud of that.

"But I joined this race team because of the leadership qualities and the quality of dedication that Joe Gibbs and J.D. have had toward this sport and will continue to have. So it's never been a question of where are we going to be and where are we going to finish our careers, but rather what are we doing to win races and to stay on top of our game. This is a decision that, as an organization, we feel like we need to make. ... It's not any disrespect to General Motors, because we've had a great relationship and we've had a great history with them. The record books show that. But at the same time, we feel like this is the right step to take to maintain that, to maintain that jump on everybody in the sport."

Stewart was asked if he believes some of his fans will react negatively to the switch, questioning his loyalty to the manufacturer that has helped him to 32 career Cup victories and championships in 2002 and 2005. He insisted that Toyota now offers him the better chance to continue winning races and championships in the future.

"You have a lot of loyalty and everything," he said. "But at the same time, at the end of the day, that's what we are here for: to win races. If J.D. and everybody else feels like this is our best opportunity to do that, I think our fans and everybody will support that. At the end of the day, it's all about winning races and championships."

Hamlin said he agreed with his JGR teammate, while pointing out, along with Gibbs, that first the goal will be to try to win one more championship for GM in his No. 11 Chevy before this season -- and their relationship -- is complete. Heading into the 26th race of the season this Saturday at Richmond, Hamlin sits fourth in points. Both he and Stewart already have clinched spots in the Chase for the Nextel Cup that will commence during the final 10 races of the season.

"It's pretty cut-and-dried for me," Hamlin said. "I feel comfortable with Toyota. We all know they'll be winners; we know they're going to be champions. Hopefully, we're the ones to bring them to that level. I think Joe Gibbs Racing is more than capable of doing it. We just need a little time to get it all together. Things are going to work out in the end, I'm sure.

"We know Chevrolet is great right now. We're winning races. We're part of their team right now and we're going to continue to be until the end of the year, but I'm really excited about the future and trying to finish out my career at Joe Gibbs Racing."

Both Stewart, whose contract is set to expire at the end of the 2008 season, and Hamlin said that they are working toward completing contract extension negotiations with JGR and that the switch to Toyota does nothing to alter those plans.

Meanwhile, the folks at Toyota gave off the distinct impression that they believe they belted a grand slam with Wednesday's announcement -- pouring hope onto a season during which they rarely have been able to so much as hit a ball out of the infield. But this deal is about the future, and now the Japanese-based manufacturer's prospects in NASCAR are joined at the hip with that of JGR's.

"I think if anybody would have said at the beginning of the season that Toyota would have been sitting at a press conference on Sept. 5 announcing that Joe Gibbs Racing was going to be part of our overall team effort for next year, I think we all would have had a hardy laugh at that," said Jim Aust, president and CEO of TRD.

"What has happened here has happened over a very short period of time. You can't pick and choose when an opportunity like this is going to come along. ... Certainly we've felt very confident all along in our abilities at TRD, with the history that we've had of championships in other series and the success we've had thus far in the Craftsman Truck Series, that we have an organization in place that can offer some value to Joe Gibbs Racing. We just look forward to getting it kicked off next year."

Lee White, vice president and general manager of TRD's operations in the United States, added that with the addition of JGR to Toyota's Cup lineup comes a different kind of pressure.

"I think when you get to the point of partnering with a team like this, you're not worried about just getting in the race anymore," White said. "I think I'll be pacing back and forth, hoping to win."