SkinsBry Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/news/story?seriesId=2&id=2998134 Source: Joe Gibbs Racing to join Toyota Motorsports next season Joe Gibbs Racing is expected to announce next week it will join Toyota Motorsports beginning next season, sources told ESPN.com. A news conference has been scheduled for Wednesday morning at JGR headquarters. Expected to be in attendance are team drivers Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin. JGR, which boasts a three-car lineup that will include Stewart, Hamlin and Kyle Busch next season, is leaving General Motors after 16 years. The team earned three series championships, including two with Stewart, under the GM banner. A GM official reached Thursday in Detroit said the manufacturer would not comment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHUBAKAH Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 No Joe, say it aint so Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riggins44 Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 No Joe, say it aint so I'm afraid it is true. This may explain why Dale Jr. went to Hendricks. My guess is JGR wouldn't guarantee sticking with Chevy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsBry Posted August 31, 2007 Author Share Posted August 31, 2007 I'm afraid it is true. This may explain why Dale Jr. went to Hendricks. My guess is JGR wouldn't guarantee sticking with Chevy. That's a good point and it's crossed my mind once or twice after hearing the JGR/Toyota rumors. I'm going to a Tony Stewart autograph session next Thursday. I want to ask him if he'll want to go back to Chevy at the end of his contract. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endzone_dave Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 I have to believe that Toyota is making this worth it for JGR. JGR will be top dog in the Toyota camp, something he couldn't be with Chevy. There will be growing pains but he'll have the resources he needs to make it work. Camry's are made in the US, right? It shouldn't be a big deal to people. Plus, if this makes Tony leave, Denny won't have a whiny, high-strung team mate to deal with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 How much do you think Toyota is paying them and is this JG's retirement after this year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimmySmith Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 The car of tomorrow changed everything. The COT changed the amount of R&D needed to be competitive from years to months. Gibbs just cashed in before somebody else did, and since he probably had been preparing for this move for 2 years the transition should be smooth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACW Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 Big whoop. NASCAR=:yawnee: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooley4President Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 Plus, if this makes Tony leave, Denny won't have a whiny, high-strung team mate to deal with. Couldn't agree more I'm conflicted about this. I'd like to see Gibbs and my favorite driver (Hamlin) in Chevys, but Toyota may be a smart move. No sense in disliking an entire brand just because everyone else is....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsBry Posted August 31, 2007 Author Share Posted August 31, 2007 Plus, if this makes Tony leave, Denny won't have a whiny, high-strung team mate to deal with. You know Kyle Busch signed with JGR, right? Busch is the whiney, high-strung teammate that'll wreck ya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halter91 Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 Bry, where is the Tony Stewart autograph session? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAFGA Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 That's right, Camry's are made in Kentucky. DOdge Avengers are made in Michigan. Chevy Impalas are made in CANADA! (Oshawa, Ontario) Ford Fusions are made in MEXICO! (Hermosillo, Mexico) If anything, Toyotas are more American than Ford and Chevy! IMagine that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsBry Posted August 31, 2007 Author Share Posted August 31, 2007 Bry, where is the Tony Stewart autograph session? Bass Pro Shops in Harrisburg. 6-8pm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief skin Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 Tony has been so damn good in the chevy now they just flip this has me concerned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsOrlando Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 Well, as long as JGR keep winning, it doesn't really matter. Plus I heard that Chevy was being a lil prickish in there renegotiations with JGR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DB44 Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 I could care less what car manufacturer JGR goes with, so long as they continue to win. If JGR knows something is holding them back, make the change. Go #20, #11, #18! :point2sky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenaa Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 You know Kyle Busch signed with JGR, right? Busch is the whiney, high-strung teammate that'll wreck ya. Like having two full time PMS'ers to dealy with. :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IONTOP Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 Big whoop. NASCAR=:yawnee: You might want to add this suggestion to your posting guidelines: If title = NASCAR, then replying=false Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsNut73 Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 The car of tomorrow changed everything. The COT changed the amount of R&D needed to be competitive from years to months. Gibbs just cashed in before somebody else did, and since he probably had been preparing for this move for 2 years the transition should be smooth. When I first heard the rumor I thought oh crap...but after giving it some thought I came to the same conclusion as you did. I don't expect it to be as big of a deal as some might think...and JGR may be exactly what Toyota needs. Big whoop. NASCAR=:yawnee: I don't get this? If I see a thread topic that doesn't interest me, I don't even click on the thread....let alone click on it and then add a worthless, negative comment??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skins247 Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 The car of tomorrow changed everything. The COT changed the amount of R&D needed to be competitive from years to months. Gibbs just cashed in before somebody else did, and since he probably had been preparing for this move for 2 years the transition should be smooth. Yeah, you're right about that. With Nascar going exclusively with the COT next year, this made it an easier decision for Gibbs. Had they been running the old car this deal would have never taken place. And this is exactly what Toyota needed, a dominant team like JGR to help get the Toyotas competitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyf316 Posted September 1, 2007 Share Posted September 1, 2007 Tony has been so damn good in the chevy now they just flip this has me concerned You realize that he won his first championship in a Pontiac, right? Labonte won the first JGR championship in a Pontiac, too. The car is the car is the car. Chevy wins the most because Chevy fields the most (with upper-eschelon drivers, anyways). Give it 3 years. Toyota will own NASCAR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mania Posted September 1, 2007 Share Posted September 1, 2007 That's just wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHUBAKAH Posted September 1, 2007 Share Posted September 1, 2007 Well here ya have it: www.nascar.com Busch says Gibbs move to Toyota in '08 is a done deal By David Caraviello, NASCAR.COM August 31, 2007 10:05 PM EDT FONTANA, Calif. -- Tony Stewart received a telephone call recently asking him to be at the Joe Gibbs Racing shop on Wednesday morning, in preparation for a noon announcement. His future teammate Kyle Busch gave everyone an idea of what that announcement will be about. Busch said Friday at California Speedway that team officials have told him the organization's long-awaited move from Chevrolet to Toyota is official. "They finally made their decision, and they called me," said the current Hendrick Motorsports driver, who is moving into Gibbs' No. 18 car next season. A Gibbs spokesman was adamant Friday that no deal had been signed between the Gibbs team and the Japanese carmaker, which has struggled mightily in its first season on NASCAR's premier circuit. But the marriage seemed a foregone conclusion inside the Nextel Cup garage area, especially after Busch essentially confirmed it. "I feel fine with it," he said. "I think it's something that's going to take Joe Gibbs Racing a step forward in the right direction. They have a great reputation for being able to produce winning racecars year in and year out, and championship teams. I think they're going to be just fine. This is a business decision that they felt was right. I guess now I have to talk to Five Star Race Bodies to make me a late model that's a Camry." Toyota's move into Nextel Cup has been fraught with difficulty, beginning even before the season-opening Daytona 500 when Michael Waltrip's team was busted for an illegal fuel additive. While there have been a few bright spots -- Dave Blaney's pole at New Hampshire and Brian Vickers' fifth-place finish at Charlotte foremost among them -- the manufacturer's first season in Cup has been defined by struggles just to make races on Friday. Enter the Gibbs program, which has won three of the last seven Cup-level championships, and will place two drivers in the season-ending Chase for the Nextel Cup. "They're a strong, strong company, Gibbs is," Chevy driver Jimmie Johnson said. "I think Toyota's commitment to the sport, and what they're willing to do to get competitive and compete for race wins and championships, will force all the other manufacturers to spend more money. It will force all the other teams to get more money to be able to compete. I think [Gibbs] may have some type of learning curve if they do go, but it would be great for Toyota and terrible for Chevrolet for us to lose those guys. That combination together, I would think, over a period of time, would be very, very tough to beat." Stewart and Denny Hamlin weren't quite as forthcoming as their future teammate. "I've got a feeling some big stuff is going to happen," Stewart said of Wednesday's expected announcement. Hamlin toed the line: "I'm not going to say we're not going to be with Chevrolet next year," he said. "It's definitely a possibility." So is the chance of Gibbs taking a competitive step back in its first season under the Toyota banner. For a Gibbs car to make the Chase next year in a Camry, it would require a dramatic leap in performance. The highest-ranking Toyota driver this year is Blaney, who sits 33rd in points. "They're a strong organization, a strong team, good drivers," Chevy driver Jeff Gordon said. "I think that would be a good move for Toyota, and it could possibly work out well for Gibbs too, we'll just have to see. Everybody talks about the engineering and the technology Toyota can bring, yet they haven't seen the results so far this year. You put them with a top organization like Gibbs, and I think they'll finally start seeing the results they're looking for. But is that going to take Gibbs to the next level, or hold them back is probably the real question." Busch cites the carmaker's strides in North American open-wheel series and the Craftsman Truck circuit as proof that it can be done. Hamlin said any move would be about positioning the Gibbs team for long-term success. "What's dominant now, is it going to be dominant down the road? That's an option everyone's looking at, what's going to be good five or six years down the road?" said Hamlin, who added that Gibbs is still working on extending his contract, to bring it in line with that of car sponsor FedEx. "I think that's why there tend to be people looking around for different options. We've got a great relationship with Chevrolet. We've always had a great relationship with Chevrolet, and I couldn't be prouder to be with them. If there's no change at all, I'll be happy." But all indications are there will be a change, and one of NASCAR's top organizations will be tasked with bringing its newest manufacturer up to a more competitive level. Kurt Busch, who moved from a Ford team to a Dodge outfit two years ago, can relate to some of what his little brother is about to go through. "I wish them all the luck," he said. "It's different, I think, with the way the fans have absorbed Toyota. But when you look at the bottom-line numbers, I think they're the No. 2 auto manufacturer as far as sales in the U.S. now. They deserve to be in our sport, and fans deserve to give them credit." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsBry Posted September 1, 2007 Author Share Posted September 1, 2007 Every Nascar article I read concerning Toyota mentions Vickers' fifth place finish and they make it sound like a win. Do you know what fifth place is? It's the fourth loser. Win a race then write about it. They sound like a bunch of god damn soccer moms, "Billy passed the ball to the kid who passed the ball to the kid who scored a goal. Wooooo!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsOrlando Posted September 1, 2007 Share Posted September 1, 2007 On Gibbs presser on Redskins.com one of the sponsors in the background is .................................................Toyota, means nothing but thought it was interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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