1on1: Joe Gibbs Racing (cont'd)

Q: Where are you right now with Home Depot as a sponsor?

Joe Gibbs: They've been a very fantastic partner. When we kind of go back and look at our years that we've been together, they've been super productive. I think that's good for both sides. We have certainly have hopes of what we think is going to happen in the future, but I think that's something where Home Depot is going through a process there. That's kind of where we are. We have great confidence that we've been very, very productive and we feel like with our years together has been a fantastic deal. When you think about how Tony (Stewart) had never won a (NASCAR) race when we first got signed up with Home Depot and what's happened and transpired since then, I think you kind of build relationships over long periods of time. I think they're going through a process now so I think it's something they need to work themselves through. We'll just be patient and wait for them.

Q: How long is Home Depot's contract for with JGR?

J.D. Gibbs: They are through next year. Hopefully we'll work with them and that can be a longer-term deal, but right now it is through next year.

Q: Kyle Busch leads the Sprint Cup Series in victories (seven after winning Chicagoland) and you guys are dominant in the Nationwide Series as well. How do you explain being so strong in a year when everyone thought another team would be on top of the field?

Joe Gibbs: Rick and the Hendrick's group were kicking things last year (on the Cup side) and certainly in the Nationwide Series, Childress won 13 races. That was last year and we were looking at it like, 'Man, we need to get to work and we've got to go hard.' Certainly we were concerned because anytime you switch manufacturers you're worried about getting off to fast starts. I have to tell you, I couldn't be more impressed with Toyota and the way they work together and the partnership we now have with them. I think over a period of time you get to see somebody's spirit and the way they go about it. Our guys and their guys have kind of really meshed and worked extremely hard.

Now, could I have guessed that we could have gotten off to this kind of start this year? No. That's part of why I went back to it being a humbling thing. ... That's the way pro sports are. That's the fascination of it. I think that's why people and fans and everybody love it so much. You don't know what's going to happen next. ... You could be on top of the heap one day and you can be on the bottom the next. At least for us, in sports I've always known that. You better be getting after it, because if you're standing still, you're falling behind. To answer your question, we had no dream that we would have been able to get off (to a start like this) and the only thing I can attribute it to is Toyota and us and the other teammates that we have over there within Toyota, the other race teams. Everyone has worked together, worked real hard, pulled together and we got out to a start that I wouldn't have envisioned.

Q: What do you make of this trend where teams are offering a piece of ownership pie to drivers to lure them into the fold?

Joe Gibbs: Obviously there's a lot going on with the sport, but those are options that other teams have. You can choose to take any direction you want; it's probably smart in a lot of cases. In our case, we've never felt like that's where we wanted to go. For us, (the organization is) family owned. We don't have any other businesses; this has to go for us. Our whole focus is on it being a family business. We like that for a number of reasons. We don't have to take a vote; we can do whatever we want, if it makes sense. We can move fast and do things quick and we can get what we want, anything we can afford. Hopefully for us, it's going to wind up being a family thing -- at least until they shove me into the corner. (Continued)