Emphasis on testing huge for Gibbs amid '08 changes

Yes, the current testing under way at Daytona International Speedway is important -- for all Sprint Cup teams, and especially so for those fielded by Joe Gibbs Racing as it makes the manufacturer's transition from General Motors to Toyota.

But perhaps no one can keep such details in proper perspective more so than J.D. Gibbs, president of JGR. He wasn't even flinching over the sudden news Tuesday that his father and the race team owner, Joe Gibbs, had decided to resign as head coach of the NFL's Washington Redskins (complete story).

It is easier to understand what is really important in life when you have something difficult thrown at you, like having a young son diagnosed with leukemia -- as J.D. Gibbs' son, Taylor, was one year ago Tuesday.

With the move to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2008, Kyle Busch is among nine drivers Jarrod Breeze says has to step up and shine in the upcoming season.

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"He's done well. He's in remission so far," Gibbs said of Taylor, now 3. "He's got two more years of treatment. And then hopefully, once you go seven years [in remission], they feel real good about it."

"That means more than anything."

It certainly means more than what's happening at Daytona, now or ever. Yet Gibbs and JGR had reasons to be excited after Monday's first day of testing when Kyle Busch, the organization's newest driver, laid down a fast lap of 184.064 mph that was third-fastest -- trailing only a pair of Busch's former Hendrick Motorsports teammates, two-time defending Cup points champion Jimmie Johnson and Casey Mears.

Gibbs admitted that with the switch in manufacturers and the fact that what was known as the Car of Tomorrow now being run full time on the Cup circuit, the current two-week testing period at Daytona is even more critical than usual.

"I think for us it's always important," Gibbs said. "And it's always easy to read too much into the testing deal, especially at Daytona. But for us, it's a big deal. We want to come out of the box strong.

"Obviously we've made big changes, going from GM to Toyota. General Motors was super with us for 16 years, a great partner. And so far, Toyota has been really supportive and great to work with, too -- but there's a learning curve."

Television analyst and former Cup champion Darrell Waltrip agreed. He said that the current tests are crucial not just for Toyota-powered teams such as JGR, but for all teams -- given the fact that the COT is still so new to everyone, especially in a superspeedway setting.

"Guys had a hard time with the old car at Daytona, trying to make 'em handle and run good," Waltrip said. "So the new car is just going to be a bigger challenge yet. That car is not going to be happy at Daytona.

"Daytona has a lot of aero push off the corner. This car is really subject to having aero push off the corner. I am concerned about the car at Daytona, in the current condition that it's in."

Gibbs has legitimate concerns about his three Cup teams, too -- the No. 20 driven by Tony Stewart and the No. 11 piloted by Denny Hamlin, in addition to the No. 18 with Busch behind the wheel. Engine builder Mark Cronquist of JGR has been referred to as "the busiest man in motorsports" as he races to beat the clock and ready Toyota motors for the rigors of the 36-week Cup season that will begin with the Daytona 500 on Feb. 17.

"We went from the SB2 [Chevrolet] engine to the RO7 last year and did a great job of it," Gibbs said. "We had it in all of our cars first -- but we had a long time to prepare. Now you're going from the RO7 GM engine to the Toyota engine and you don't have much time to prepare. That makes it difficult.

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"But all of our guys would be very disappointed if we don't come out of the box and feel like we have a really good chance to win week in and week out, especially now that we've got Kyle there now to team up with Tony and Denny. We're pretty excited about that."

Gibbs cautioned not to make too much of Busch's fast lap times on Monday.

"It's a good start. And our guys usually are pretty conservative down there with that stuff, too," Gibbs said. "You don't want to read too much into it, but that's where you want to start. You want to start there and then be able to make gains on it once you get drafting.

"To me, at Daytona and Talladega, it's kind of a crapshoot anyway. If you can finish at those places, odds are you're doing pretty good. That's our goal."

Busch has been highly critical of the COT. When asked if Busch seemed pleased with the early testing results during a Monday night phone conversation, Gibbs laughed and said: "It's not drafting. It's just qualifying runs. It's probably the most boring thing you could possibly do [as a driver]. So to him, it's just boring. You can't tell much. I think once you get in drafting mode, you can tell more. But for him, it doesn't really matter right now. He's just making laps.

"Don't get me wrong. It's good to be in the ballpark [on speed]. But it doesn't tell you a whole lot about how the car is going to handle in the draft, with other guys around you. But so far they're encouraged."

Teams were to begin practicing working with other cars in the draft on Tuesday afternoon. Busch is the only JGR car participating in the first week of Daytona tests, with Stewart and Hamlin scheduled to participate next week.

Meanwhile, Gibbs was left to ponder other life details on Tuesday -- as the good news of his son continuing to do well on the first-year anniversary of his diagnosis mixed with the seemingly unexpected news of his father resigning as head coach of the Redskins.

Gibbs said it was a hard year for his father, whose team rallied to win its final four games and make the playoffs after one of its star players, defensive back Sean Taylor, was shot to death in his Florida home. The Redskins were eliminated from the NFL playoffs last Saturday, losing in the first round at Seattle.

"Having my son sick and all the other stuff that went on, it was hard," Gibbs said. "[Joe Gibbs] went through it and actually ended up having some positives come out of it. They went to the playoffs."

The coach now will serve as an adviser to the football team's owner, Dan Snyder.

"As a huge Redskins fan myself, I'm thrilled he will remain in partnership with Dan as a consultant, helping the Redskins wherever he can in the years to come," Gibbs said. "I think he always would love to be a part of the Redskins [in some capacity]. He'd love to make that work. But I just think he thought about it, prayed about it -- and figured out this is where he needs to be."

Gibbs said he expects the coach to be around their Mooresville race shop and at the racetracks more often.

"Obviously, it'll be great to have him back here on a regular basis," he said. "It's a biased opinion because he's my dad, but there's so much that he brings to the table. As far as my role with the team goes -- nothing changes, just like nothing really changed when he went back to the Redskins in 2004. I guess it's a good thing I never moved into his office.

"Hopefully we'll get him back over here in our crazy world. We would like that."