Gibson having fun on and off track at Stewart-Haas

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Florida native Tony Gibson grew up near Daytona International Speedway in a family securely grounded in racing and the outdoors. As the crew chief of Stewart-Haas Racing's No. 39 Chevrolet of Ryan Newman, he revels in both.

Gibson sat down before the Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway to talk about his race teams, his shared love of the outdoors and how having a teenage daughter is a mutually educational experience.

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Q: You've been a crew chief before, but this seems to be going so smoothly, is it the most fun, the most comfortable you've been in the role?

Gibson: It's the most fun I've had, but it's a little more stressful, right now, because the Chase is so tight. You want to make the Chase, for the team, the guys, the driver and yourself -- for the whole organization more than anything. So it's the most fun I've had, by far.

Q: What makes it that much fun?

Gibson: I just think it's because the drivers, [Tony] Stewart and Newman are so much fun to be around. They keep everybody pumped up and excited, and when you have a bad day they're there to keep you pumped up and say. 'It's OK, we're going to have better days.'

That kind of cheers you up. And the guys that work at the shop -- we've got two great race teams that work really good together, they support each other and they get along. So all that combined makes it fun and makes you want to go to work every day.

Q: You've never been involved with drivers who share your love of the outdoors, have you?

Gibson: No, and it's really cool; a lot of fun. Dale [Earnhardt] Jr. liked to hunt a little bit, but he's not a big, avid hunter like Stewart and Newman are. Stewart and Newman, they just love the outdoors, both of them have deer farms; they raise deer. Stuff like that is right up my alley.

Other drivers that I've had have had interest in it, but nothing [compared] to the magnitude of these guys. They just eat it up and eat, sleep and breathe it; like I do. That part of it makes it a lot of fun to be around those guys.

Q: As busy as you guys all are, individually and together, have you had a chance to enjoy any of that?

Gibson: I've been to Newman's farm a couple times, up there [in North Carolina] off I-77. We fed the little deer, got to see the place and went fishing in his pond. And we're getting ready to go to Stewart's. I've seen pictures, but he's actually going to take us up there and let us run around his farm a little bit and do some doe hunting.

But me and Newman have been fishing quite a bit. We've been turkey hunting together, down in Atlanta a couple times earlier in the season, so that was fun. We didn't kill anything because it was such a rush deal.

Q: Do you believe being out there is as much fun as bagging fish and game?

Gibson: It doesn't get any better. I can sit in a deer stand all day long and just enjoy the nature and the quiet. It just gets you away from the stress of everything else. It's relaxing for me. It's the same with fishing. If I don't catch anything when I'm out on the water, when everything's quiet and I'm just chilling out, that means a lot to me. It beats working any day.

Tony Gibson has had more luck with Ryan Newman's car this year than he has with his teenage daughter's.

Q: What's the funniest thing that's happened to you and Newman when you've been out fishing?

Gibson: We just have a little rivalry together, who catches the most fish. We took his dog, Fred, fishing with us the last time we were in Michigan, and me and Newman were in the same itty-bitty boat.

We didn't actually fall out of the boat, but we come damned close a couple times, when Fred would make a quick move. We'd catch a fish and as soon as the fish got to the side of the boat, Fred wanted to get down and get that fish. So he would run to that side of the boat, and the boat would go up and Newman would go that way and I would go the other way.

It was just comical to watch us try to anticipate Fred's moves on that little-bitty boat to keep us out of the water. We didn't end up in the water, but we came damned close. Fred was great, and he never got out of the boat. He had his own little cushion.

But I'll tell you, a couple times I thought we were going in the water, and that's probably the funniest thing that's happened lately, to me and [Newman]. I just knew we were gonna be wet -- and two guys and a dog swimming back to shore.

Q: It sounds like the farm trips are a great family activity for you, your wife, Beth, and your daughter, Laney?

Gibson: It's a neat thing to do as a group. I have some feeders at my house and we have two little fawns. Every year we seem to have twins, little fawns, so I feed 'em. We don't hunt 'em or anything around the house. They [family] just like to look at 'em and stuff. My daughter will get the little disk out of my camera and we'll look at all the pictures of the new deer we get each year, and the babies. They do get to go on the trips to the farms and they enjoy all that. They don't hunt, they just enjoy looking at 'em and being out in nature. But they love to fish.

Q: What's the neatest place you've found to get out and fish on the road?

Gibson: I would say Pocono. That's a beautiful part of the country, all mountains and a lot of nice streams and lakes. I love going to Pocono and I fish just about every night when I go up there. It's nice and cool in the evenings and to get out on a lake or a stream and have an awesome time, when it's quiet, with a lot of wildlife -- deer and bear and I've seen turkey there before -- so I'd say Pocono is my favorite spot. It's where I see the most wildlife and I just enjoy it up there.

Q: Do you favor one brand of fishing over another?

Gibson: I like fresh-water fishing more, because I think there's more finesse in it. When you're salt-water fishing you've usually got six or eight poles out and the boat takes you right to where the fish are.

When you're fishing for bass or crappie or whatever, you really have to search for 'em and you really have to know what bait they're chasing: is it a fast presentation or slow or what lure is it, a worm or a crank bait, because there are so many different baits; and it's all based off water temperature and the moon phase. There are so many things that come into play in fresh water that don't in salt water, so I prefer fresh water.

Q: Your daughter's 16, you got a good teenage daughter story you can safely tell?

Gibson: Laney's driving now, so we bought her a little Malibu. She had it about three weeks and I had the motorhome parked in the front drive, the hitch for my truck was sticking out and she backed her car out and tore the door off it.

I didn't get upset. Her momma called me all tore up and Laney was all tore up, screaming and crying. I thought she killed the dog, or something. I said, 'It's OK, stuff like that happens. It's no problem.'

Then, about two weeks ago, I was backing my boat trailer out of my driveway and her car was parked by the road, I didn't see it and I backed the trailer right into the other side of her car and tore the other door off of it.

I stayed calm. I was mad, but I bit my lip. So they come outside, and [Laney] looked at me and said, Dad, I know how you feel.' So I was glad I didn't yell at her the time before, because she probably would have reamed me. So that little car's been through hell, and I told her, 'Maybe that thing's just a jinx and we need to get rid of it and get you something else?'

She said, 'I was thinking the same thing, Dad. I want a jeep.'