Joe Gibbs Racing has long stood as a benchmark in NASCAR, thanks to the consistent dominance of its drivers across victory lanes, points standings, and performance charts. And even though success on the track is the result of a combined effort, Joe Gibbs still believes that, when all is said and done, it’s better to be behind the wheel than behind the desk or car.
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During a recent morning interview on SpeedFreaks, Gibbs was asked whether he remains as relaxed and playful with today’s drivers as he once was with Bobby Labonte, with whom he had the freedom to jokingly slap around.
Gibbs responded by saying that, more often than not, he feels like he works for the drivers instead of the other way around. After all, they’re the ones having all the fun inside the race car.
As Gibbs put it, “You get to drive a race car and make a living, everybody wants to drive a race car. The second thing is if we win a purse on a weekend, they get half the purse. They pay four people to drive their motor home and work around the house. I pay 400 people to work on a race car, so they make all the money.”
With a laugh, he added, “And then the third thing is they all got great-looking girls. So, I said they got fun, money, and girls. So, I think if anybody out there wants to get in racing, be a driver, not an owner.”
Yet, despite his lighter tone, Gibbs has poured more than 32 years into building Joe Gibbs Racing from the ground up. He remains a cornerstone figure in the garage, not simply as an owner, but as the kind of leader every team hopes to have, a sentiment echoed by his drivers on multiple occasions.
Joe Gibbs addresses fans’ support for NASCAR drivers
NASCAR stands apart as one of the few sports where fan loyalty often centers on individual drivers more than entire teams. A supporter might rally behind one driver but feel no particular allegiance to the other team members. As a result, the level of fan support can vary widely, even among drivers under the same roof, based on how much fans like the drivers’ personalities.
Addressing whether NASCAR benefits from drivers showing their true selves rather than conforming to scripted personas, Joe Gibbs shared his perspective.
He said, “I think each one of the drivers, it’s their personality that comes out, it really is. And we’ve got some that fans would boo, and obviously (there’s) those fans for the very same driver, will cheer.
“But I think the great thing about our sport is that’s the driver that the fans are on one side or the other. You have the race teams themselves, you’ve got people pulling for Hendrick and Penske, and hopefully some for us.”
In essence, while drivers remain the primary magnets for fan attention, the competition runs deep on every front, manufacturers like Ford, Toyota, and Chevrolet battle for supremacy, and team owners are constantly in the mix. That rich tapestry in rivalry is what gives NASCAR its distinctive character.
