Joe Gibbs Racing
Vorlage:NASCAR Owner InfoboxJoe Gibbs Racing (also known as JGR) is a group of NASCAR racing teams owned by Joe Gibbs. Started in 1991, the group of drivers associated with Joe Gibbs Racing includes two NASCAR Championship winners in Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte. The third Nextel Cup driver on the team was Jason Leffler until his release from JGR on August 8, 2005. That car will be driven for the remainder of the season by Bobby's brother Terry Labonte, as well as the team's Busch Series drivers, J.J. Yeley and Denny Hamlin.
The team is based in Huntersville, North Carolina, which is near Charlotte.
Nextel Cup
Car #11 History
Previously JGR's research and development car, what is now the 11 car debuted at the 2003 Pepsi 400 as #80, driven by Mike Bliss and sponsored by Advair and finishing 26th. The car reamained idle until the 2004 Tropicana 400, when Bliss finished 31st in the ConAgra/Slim Jim machine. After a fourth place finish in the fall race at Richmond International Raceway, The team switched to #11, and Ricky Craven finished 30th at Talladega, and J.J. Yeley running two races in the car. The car went full-time in 2005, receiving sponsorship from Fedex and Jason Leffler driving. After Leffler struggled in the car he was released and Yeley, Terry Labonte, and Denny Hamlin will drive the car for the rest of the year. In 2006, Hamlin will drive the car full-time in addition to running a full-time Busch schedule.
Car #18 History
The #18 Interstate Batteries Chevy has been a part of JGR since its inception. It debuted at the 1992 Daytona 500 with Dale Jarrett driving the car to a 36th place finish after a crash. The team improved dramatically the next year, when Jarrett won the Daytona 500, and finished a then career-high 4th in points. After Jarrett slipped to 16th in points in 1994, Bobby Labonte took over, and has been at the car ever since. Labonte has won 21 races in the car, and won the Winston Cup championship in 2000. Since then, Labonte has slipped a bit, as his best finish in the points since then is 6th in 2001, and has not won since 2003.
Car #20 History
Tony Stewart trotted out the #20 Home Depot car at the 1999 Daytona 500, qualifying on the outside pole. He won three races as well as the NASCAR Rookie of the Year honors. Since then, the car has seen very little changes, as Stewart has won 24 races as well as the 2002 championship. He is currently leading the points standings in 2005.
Current Nextel Cup teams
- #20, driven by Tony Stewart, sponsored by The Home Depot
- #18, driven by Bobby Labonte, sponsored by Interstate Batteries
- #11, driven by Terry Labonte, J.J. Yeley, and Denny Hamlin, sponsored by Federal Express
Current Busch Series teams
- #18, driven by J.J. Yeley, sponsored by The Home Depot and Vigoro
- #20, driven by Denny Hamlin, sponsored by Rockwell Automation
