Normally for this feature we go 1on1 with an individual. In light of all that has transpired recently, that changes this week as we engage in a 1on1 conversation with Joe Gibbs Racing.

Q: Any words of advice for Tony with his new team?

Joe Gibbs: I'd say as far as giving advice, certainly if Tony came to us and asked anything, if there was anything there going forward, we'd talk to him. But I think Tony is a pretty confident guy. He's owned other race teams, so I can't picture him asking us for much advice. I'd be willing to talk to him, but he hasn't asked for advice and we certainly haven't been giving him any.

Joe Gibbs Racing

• A future without Stewart
• Eyes turn to young Logano
• Caraviello: Fit for a King?
• Zipadelli staying with 20 car
• Video: Stewart, Gibbs on TNT
• Silly Season 2008: In and out

Q: As strong as JGR appears to be even without Stewart, is there any apprehension about the future?

J.D. Gibbs: I think when you look at our history -- the driver is such a key part of what you do with a race team, a huge part of what you do. But when you look back, this isn't anything new for us. We've been through it before with Dale Jarrett; he kind of left early. We've been through it before with Bobby Labonte, who left early. And now we're going through it with Tony. Each of those are difficult, but I think each ended up as well as you could have hoped because they invested a ton in Joe Gibbs Racing and we invested a ton in their career.

I think when you leave, you realize that you have a better opportunity or something different. We understand that. It's hard, but when you get a chance to talk to those guys down the road, we both appreciate how we handled that. And that's what we're trying to do here with Tony and Tony's doing a good job for us with the way this is winding up.

Joe Gibbs: I really think when you're always talking about the future in this sport and pro sports in particular, I think our best approach and what we kind of preach is to stay humble. It's a humbling sport and that we see from year to year that some teams will be up and some will be down. The struggles that you have in all pro sports, I think it's very humbling -- I've always looked at it that way. I've never felt like I could relax. Stay humble and then hungry -- getting after it.

J.D.'s focus, what he says a lot of the time is we have 450 people working there not for us, but they're part of our team and our family. That's our focus. Every single thing that we do is to try and focus on us and what's best for them and this sport and what's best is to run up front and be fast.

Q: You have identified Joey Logano as a candidate to possibly replace Stewart in the No. 20 car. Will Joey be in a Cup car at least part-time by the end of the year -- and for him to get in the No. 20 car, do you need to convince (current primary sponsor) Home Depot he's the right guy for the job?

J.D. Gibbs: All of our decisions involve our crew chiefs, Jimmy Makar (JGR senior vice president), our key guys at JGR -- and when everyone agrees this is the direction we should go, whether it's a change of manufacturer, bringing a new driver on board or whatever, then we move on it. In the past, if everyone agrees on that then we're usually in pretty good shape. When we get to that point, that's when we'll let everyone else know. ... Home Depot obviously will be part of all those discussions.

Joe Gibbs: I think everybody who has been around Joey off the track, when you kind of watch him do TV stuff, we all think he's very mature for a young guy like that. He's got a great family. I don't think it's anything off the track (holding things up). Obviously our whole race team has been focused on what is the best thing to do toward the end of this year. We've had some conversations with NASCAR, too (about having an 18-year-old such as Logano race on the Cup side). We're pointing toward that. As to exactly what that's going to look like, I don't think right now is the time to say, but we'll be getting to it pretty quick.

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.

Q: What does the future hold for Greg Zipadelli, Stewart's long-time crew chief on the No. 20 car?

Joe Gibbs: Zippy is a huge part of our organization and we've already charted his future and what he's going to be doing. Obviously he's at the top of his game right now and everything. We're thrilled with the fact that we've done a long-term deal with him. We've kind of laid that into the future, with his future with the race team. I think Zippy understands he's a big part of our group and always will be.

J.D. Gibbs: We've had a great history with Zippy. He's part of the family and we are a dysfunctional family, but we're pretty tight. For him to make that commitment and stay with our guys, that means a lot. Zippy's place at JGR is like a lot of our guys, hopefully growing old there and working on stuff. It made us feel good.

Q: Are there other names on your replacement list besides Logano? And are you concerned that you might perhaps push him too far, too quickly?

Joe Gibbs: I think he's matured, too, even though he's a young guy. We've mentioned he's got a ton of experience (testing Cup cars and driving in other series). Plus, he's been around our guys a bunch and so I think we're real, real comfortable with Joey. A big part of that is him and his dad and the family, what do they think? We've had discussions with them.

I don't think you can brag on Joey enough. I think the other thing is that Denny (Hamlin) changed things for me. Denny came out of Late Models and about seven months later we stuck him in the No. 11 and it was boom, right to the front. I think if they've got it, they've got it. I think we kind of lean a little bit on that. At least we think Joey's got it.

Stewart-Haas Racing

• Deal Stewart couldn't refuse
• Gibbs grants Stewart release
• Menzer: Gamble worth taking
• Aumann: Driver-ownerships
• About Haas CNC Racing
• Stewart's ownership roles

Q: You earlier had plans to go to a fourth car for next year. Does the fact that Tony is leaving now kill that idea?

J.D. Gibbs: I think it goes back to when we feel all the parts and pieces are in place we could do it next year, it could be 10 -- we're in no hurry. It doesn't really apply to the No. 20 car situation because that's nothing new. I think for us, it's when we think we have all the right pieces in place to do that fourth deal and I think some opportunities might present themselves, then great; if not, we've learned enough with starting teams to wait until it's all right and everything is in place or your better off not doing it.

Q: If Tony doesn't make the Chase would you consider putting someone else in that car?

J.D. Gibbs: No.

Q: Where are you going to put Logano if he runs a Cup race this year?

J.D. Gibbs: From here on out, he's in every Nationwide event. When we feel like there are races that might make sense for him to run in a Cup car, great, we'll try to make it happen (in a fourth car). We can do as many as we want or as little as we want depending on what we see his future being.

Q: What do you think about the possibilities of NASCAR changing the engine in the Nationwide Series to equalize competition?

J.D. Gibbs: You hear a bunch in the media and a bunch from other teams. ... Here's what's changed just within JGR. Our bodies are now built within the same Cup shop for the first time ever next to the Cup guys who can assist them hanging those bodies. That's a big deal. Our chassis are now all built in-house. We used to buy them and now they're built in-house for the first time ever. Also a big deal. We have integrated our Nationwide stuff into our Cup program better than ever before and it's hard to do because we're not in the same building. That's a big deal for our guys from an engineering standpoint and from a crew chief standpoint.

We have great crew chiefs. We have great crew guys. We invest a ton because that is our future with JGR's Nationwide stuff. It's a big investment for us. We think it's worth it and it's always paid off with drivers and crew members and crew chiefs. A great pit crew is not easy to develop and we get those guys trained there and that's a big deal. I think we have great drivers. I know it's been said, put a monkey in there and they can do it. Let me just say we have some very gifted and highly trained monkeys. Keep that in mind, that it's easier said than done. If a monkey could do it, I'd still be driving.

Q: What about the motors, and the insinuation that the Toyotas, especially on the Nationwide side, pack much more horsepower than other manufacturers at the moment?

J.D. Gibbs: When you get to the motor issue, to me NASCAR did a dyno (test) in Milwaukee and I think there were two manufacturers pretty close and two manufactures down a little bit. That always kind of changes throughout the years. My thing is, NASCAR has been very good at saying here's your box, you work in that box. Make it the best you can make it. It's not a welfare state. You have to work to get what you want to get out of it. ... If there are certain things you can add, that's always been the history from NASCAR's standpoint. I think for us, when you do look back, Childress did win 13 (Nationwide races) last year. Hendrick won 18, I think, on the Cup side. I think GM won 22 races total on Nationwide. When you see that, good for them, they deserve it, they worked hard. They earned that.

What I get frustrated with is, just give our guys some credit. That's the biggest thing. Give them some credit. They are doing a good job. Don't keep yanking at them and say anybody can do it because that's not the case.