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closeNationwide on Gibbs side | Jim Utter's notebook
Team dominates with 8 wins; another star driver could be on horizon
JIM UTTER
The Charlotte Observer
Thursday, May. 22, 2008
Joe Gibbs Racing has won eight of the first 12 Nationwide Series races this season.
All three of the organization's drivers -- Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin -- have won at least one race and JGR's No. 20 Toyota team has won races with all three drivers.
Here's the scary part: The best might be yet to come.
Waiting to make his series debut is Joey Logano, who turns 18 on Saturday and plans to jump in the No. 20 for the May 31 race at Dover, Del.
Logano is coming off a dominating victory May 4 at Rockingham Speedway in his debut in the Automobile Racing Club of America and won the Camping World East series title last year as a rookie.
Walking into an organization that has won six consecutive races entering Saturday's Carquest 300, Logano might have expected to be a little intimidated or overwhelmed.
Stewart doubts Logano is worried.
"It's a perfect situation for him," Stewart said. "That kid has a lot of confidence and it's not arrogance; it's not unrealistic expectations.
"His thoughts and his thought process and his goals are realistic goals and realistic expectations. What he did last year makes me say, `Hey, this kid isn't setting his goals too high. He's capable of winning just as many races as the rest of us.' "
Joe Gibbs Racing isn't the only benefactor of its success.
With the organization's move in the offseason to the Toyota camp, Toyota has taken the lead in the manufacturer's standings in the series with the help of JGR drivers' eight wins.
"I think a lot of it certainly has to go to the team. But, you also have to have a motor and the Toyota engine has proven to be a strong motor," said Jim Aust, president and CEO of Toyota Racing Development.
"When you go to do the chassis dynos (measures rear-wheel horsepower), Toyota is the one that is at the top or near the top. The Gibbs guys are running extremely strong, and in the races when they haven't had problems, you could say they are the class of the field."
The foundation of the success of JGR's Nationwide series effort, however, was laid long before the offseason change from Chevrolet to Toyota.
"Our group has been together for a period of years and it helps that all of our teams in our division work well together. We have no walls, no boundaries," said Steve deSouza, JGR's vice president of Nationwide Series operations.
"Everybody is on the same page. If we have issues we put them on the table and deal with them. It's about having strong people that continue to develop and you have to have confidence in them to do what they do best."
DeSouza called the effort this season -- which includes multiple drivers in one car and a change of manufacturers -- "a remarkable task."
"The manufacturer changeover was huge on the Nationwide side. At the end of the day, some people may call it luck, but I feel a great effort has crossed roads with an opportunity and the dividends are paying right now," he said.
Currently, no one driver has a full schedule in the series, which would prevent JGR from capturing a driver's title this season. Busch, however, is closest to piecing together a complete schedule that will give him the opportunity.
"At the end of the day we want all of the teams in our division -- the Camping World series and the two Nationwide teams -- to win," deSouza said. "And everyone is willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen every week."
