Joe Gibbs savors fourth championship as team owner
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Joe Gibbs is now a better racing team owner than a football coach — if the numbers count.
When Kyle Busch won his first Sprint Cup championship Sunday night, Gibbs scored his fourth as owner of Joe Gibbs Racing, the NASCAR team he started in 1992.
Gibbs, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, won Super Bowl championships as head coach of the Washington Redskins in 1983, 1986 and 1992.
Bobby Labonte won the first racing championship for Gibbs in 2000, and Tony Stewart scored titles for JGR in 2002 and 2005. Busch’s title ended a 10-year championship drought for JGR.
"It's a thrill for me to be in two sports like that," Gibbs said. "I love football, and everything I got to do there is just a thrill for me, and then to come over here and have two great experiences — you realize in life, most people never get one. They never get to have one, and I've had two.
"And so, believe me, I know how blessed I am. I appreciate that, and I thank the Lord every day, and I'm very thankful for having a chance to do this."
Gibbs, who will turn 75 years old Wednesday, has taken on a larger day-to-day role with the racing team this season as his son J.D., the team president, has battled illness.
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