Who founded Joe Gibbs Racing?

Joe Gibbs founded Joe Gibbs Racing, the NASCAR organization that carries his name.

Gibbs launched the team in 1992 after building a celebrated career as an NFL coach. The organization was initially based in Huntersville, North Carolina, and made its NASCAR Cup Series debut in the 1992 Daytona 500. Gibbs’s son, J. D. Gibbs, later became an important executive and team president.

The team’s early success came with General Motors brands, including Pontiac and Chevrolet. Joe Gibbs Racing switched to Toyota for the 2008 season, a major manufacturer change that connected the team to Toyota’s developing NASCAR program. Kyle Busch delivered Toyota its first premier-series championship in 2015 while driving for JGR.

The name can cause a common mix-up: Joe Gibbs Racing is the team founded by Joe Gibbs, while drivers such as Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch are notable competitors associated with it, not its founders. Gibbs’s football background also distinguishes him from NASCAR owners Richard Childress and Rick Hendrick, who founded their own separate racing organizations.