CUP: Joe and J.D. Speak

Sprint Cup

CUP: Joe and J.D. Speak

NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs and his son J.D., president of Joe Gibbs Racing..

Tom Jensen | Posted July 13, 2008 Joliet, Ill.

JD Gibbs and Joe Gibbs, owners of Joe Gibbs Racing speak with the media about the loss of Tony Stewart and the future of their organization at Chicagoland Speedway. (Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images Photo)

NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs and his son J.D., president of Joe Gibbs Racing, said that in the wake of the pending departure of driver Tony Stewart, the team will weigh all its options for a replacement.

The team has not decided who will succeed Stewart, or if a fourth JGR car will be added in 2009, but Joe and J.D. both said 18-year-old Joey Logano and Stewart’s crew chief, Greg Zipadelli, will be integral parts of the team for years to come.

“For me personally, I think Joey (Logano) is a candidate for anything,” Joe Gibbs said Saturday at Chicagoland Speedway when asked if Logano was a candidate to replace Stewart. “I think that ever since we got started with Joey and his family and everything with racing, we tried to put him in everything we can. I think we have a total now of 32 tests that he’s been with us in Cup cars and everything. I don’t think there’s one incident ever where he hadn’t stood out.”

The elder Gibbs said Logano has shown maturity beyond his years. “He is 18, but I think he’s very mature as a racer and we’ve tried to give him every bit of experience since he’s been with us,” Gibbs said of Logano. “Obviously he’s a huge part of our future. I think right now we have to make sure we work through all these things we’re going through right now. … We’re just working through a process here.”

Logano will run some Cup races in a JGR Toyota before year end, though details have not been finalized.

As for Zipadelli, who has won two NASCAR Sprint Cup championships as Stewart’s crew chief, he will remain with the team after Stewart departs. “Zippy is a huge part of our organization and we’ve already charted his future and what he’s going to be doing,” said Joe Gibbs. “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.”

“We’ve had a great history with Zippy,” added J.D. Gibbs. “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.”

J.D. declined to answer whether Stewart was forbidden from hiring away any JGR employees as part of the agreement to let the driver out of his contract a year early. “Anything in that agreement, we’re going to keep that confidential for the most part,” J.D. said. “For us there’s probably a few things we couldn’t answer.”

He also was noncommittal about whether there would a fourth JGR Cup car in 2009. “We could do it next year, it could be 10 (years) – we’re in no hurry,” J.D. said. “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 and 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.”

The team owner and president indicated that Stewart will not be able to take the No. 20 with him when he moves to Stewart Haas Racing next year.

And Gibbs the team owner said he didn’t have any words of wisdom for Stewart as he steps into his new role as owner. “I’d say as far as giving advice, certainly if Tony came to us and asked anything, if there was anything there going forward, I think Tony is a pretty confident guy,” Joe Gibbs said. “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.”

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Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

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