Joe Gibbs Racing wins Nationwide owners title
HOMESTEAD, Fla. - There was little doubt which team was best during the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series season. Joe Gibbs Racing won 19 of the 35 races this year, but the owners championship still came down to the last race.
That’s because JGR’s best, the No. 18, only entered 21 races. The No. 18 team won 10 times in 2008, one more than the No. 20.
So JGR’s No. 20 team had to survive the final race of the season, and rookie Joey Logano did that, finishing 10th after starting from the pole.
That gave the No. 20 team the owners title by 12 points over Richard Childress Racing’s No. 2 team of Clint Bowyer. Logano shared the No. 20 Toyota with three of Gibbs’ Sprint Cup drivers, Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin. All four won races in the car this year.
The team also had to overcome the suspension of crew chief Dave Rogers and two others, as well as 150 points, after a controversial incident following the race at Michigan where team members tried to alter a NASCAR engine test. The No. 18 team also lost three crew members.
“You know, that was a hard situation,” team president J.D. Gibbs said. “I think that was encouraging for our guys – six other guys are now at home. To go back and have the guys at the shop step up – some guys have never been on the road before – and do things that were asked of them that weren’t comfortable and were difficult, I think that meant a lot.
“I think that is going to make it a real strong foundation for years to come. Those guys went through hard times together, came out of it and were still able to win that championship.”
The title was the first of any kind for Gibbs in the Nationwide Series. Gibbs said the team plans to bring all its crew members to the awards banquet in Orlando, Fla., this weekend.
“That’s a big deal for us,” Gibbs said. “So we’re real excited about it, and I think for our team, it meant more than I would say most championships mean to other teams. I mean, this was a big deal for us and for the guys that worked so hard, because really, [in the] Nationwide [Series] you have guys that do a little bit of everything, and they’re not so specialized. They really work their tails off.”
Stewart won five races in nine starts in the car, with Hamlin winning twice in five starts, Busch once in three starts and Logano once in 18 starts.
Richard Childress, who won last year’s owners title, said winning the championship with four drivers was impressive.
“To go out and win owners championship with four different drivers is just unheard of,” Childress said. “I’m really happy for those guys. If we couldn’t win it, I was really proud for Joe and those guys, the way they accomplished it.”
