Joe Gibbs Racing Leaves General Motors After 16 Years To Join Toyota
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Sep 06, 2007
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Toyota got the top NASCAR team it wanted when Joe Gibbs Racing said Wednesday it will put Stewart, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Bush in Camrys next season. And this is causing a a dilemma for many of Stewart’s fans who thought their man’s blood ran red, white and blue.
General Motors took it in stride. The reaction was measured and calm and covered up the pain that all of GM’s latest technological breakthroughs just got delivered to Toyota inside the head of Gibbs’ engine-building guru Mark Cronquist. Doug Guthrie, TheDetroitNews
They’d just pulled off the equivalent of Babe Ruth being sold by the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees, creating a potential rivalry between Chevrolet and Toyota that this sport so badly needs.
They definitely took Toyota to a level it never would have reached with its current lineup of Bill Davis Racing, Michael Waltrip Racing and Team Red Bull.
Tony Stewart versus Dave Blaney?
No contest. David Newton, ESPN.com
Tony Stewart, who has won 2 Cup titles for JGR in Chevrolets and is aligned with Chevrolet as an owner in the World of Outlaws sprint car
series, said he welcomes the change but does not expect it to affect his open-wheel efforts.
“I’m excited about it. We’re in the middle of contract negotiations right now and working to extend my contract already, so I’m excited about this,” said Stewart, who is currently 2nd in the Cup standings, one spot ahead of teammate Hamlin. Travis Barrett, GreenWhiteChecker
Toyota was attracted to the Gibbs team because JGR has its own engine program. When you look at manufacturer dollars these days, General Motors/Chevrolet, Ford and Dodge only have so much of a budget to spend on racing. GM is pretty heavily invested in Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing. The Childress/Dale Earnhardt Inc. engine company probably takes a lot of Chevy’s resources and support. So it’s a logical step for Gibbs and a logical choice for Toyota. Darrell Waltrip, FoxSports
