Joe Gibbs Racing

About Joe Gibbs Racing

Joe Gibbs Racing is a group of NASCAR racing teams owned and operated by Joe Gibbs, who first started racing on the NASCAR circuit in 1991, and J.D. Gibbs, his son. Headquartered in Huntersville, North Carolina, near Charlotte, the team amassed three Sprint Cup Championships since the year 2000 and participated in other lower-tier NASCAR series for driver development, winning one championship in the Busch East Series of the NASCAR Grand National Division.

Despite past success with General Motors, winning its three championships with Pontiacs and Chevrolets, the team switched to newcomer Toyota in 2008. They currently field Toyota Camrys for Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and Tony Stewart in the Sprint Cup series, and two teams in the Nationwide Series with several drivers.

Previously JGR's research and development car, what is now the #11 car debuted at the 2003 Pepsi 400 as #80, driven by Mike Bliss and sponsored by Advair and finishing 26th. The car remained idle until the 2004 Tropicana 400, when Bliss finished 31st in the ConAgra/Slim Jim machine. After a fourth place finish in the fall race at Richmond International Raceway, The team switched to #11, and Ricky Craven finished 30th at Talladega, and J. J. Yeley running two races in the car. The car went full-time in 2005, receiving sponsorship from FedEx and Jason Leffler driving. Leffler was released after struggling in 19 starts and Yeley, Terry Labonte, and Denny Hamlin finished out the season. Hamlin had the most starts (7) and finished in the top 10 three times. He was awarded the #11 FedEx Express full-time ride in 2006 in addition to his full-time Busch schedule in the #20 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet. By the end of July 2006, Hamlin had three poles and three victories (the Budweiser Shootout and both Pocono Raceway races). In 2007, Hamlin won the first of two races at New Hampshire International Speedway in 2007, and finished 12th in points.