‘Coach’ Joe Gibbs Lets Slip His Mastermind Story Behind Luring Tony Stewart Into NASCAR

One of many hardest components of constructing a champion workforce is recognizing uncooked expertise. And when you see it, do no matter it takes to safe it. NASCAR legend Rick Hendrick famously scouted Jeff Gordon at a Busch Collection race in 1992, chartering a personal jet to carry the 20-year-old phenom to Charlotte for a handshake deal the very subsequent day. Joe Gibbs confronted the same crossroads when he first heard about Tony Stewart.

Gibbs, a three-time Tremendous Bowl-winning coach who led the Washington Redskins with three totally different quarterbacks within the Eighties and early ’90s. Now, Gibbs had turned to NASCAR possession in 1991 with the identical strategic mindset. When he watched Tony Stewart climb by way of the ranks of USAC, open-wheel, and ultimately win the 1997 IRL title, Gibbs noticed a multidisciplinary driver with uncommon versatility. He got down to carry Stewart into Joe Gibbs Racing, establishing one of the crucial transformative partnerships in Cup Collection historical past.

How Joe Gibbs lured Tony Stewart into NASCAR

Joe Gibbs was nonetheless laying the groundwork for his fledgling Cup workforce when he first turned his consideration to a younger sprint-car star named Tony Stewart. As Kevin Harvick put it on his Happy Hour podcast, “Inform me the way you went and located Tony Stewart.” Joe Gibbs walked right into a Shell sponsorship assembly, already eyeing a driver he’d by no means formally met, as Gibbs recalled, “We had form of all seen Tony, and I simply mentioned, ‘What do you suppose if we may get Tony Stewart?’ They freaked out. ‘He’s who we wish.’”

On the time, Tony Stewart had already clinched the 1995 USAC Triple Crown. A feat nobody had achieved earlier than, and he was rising quick in IndyCar. In 1997, he turned the IRL champion whereas additionally dabbling in NASCAR’s Busch Collection with Bobby Labonte’s workforce. Regardless of being below contract with Harry Ranier’s Cup operation, Stewart was seen by some within the inventory automobile world as a risky expertise: good behind the wheel, however exhausting to handle.

Gibbs didn’t let Stewart’s busy schedule derail him. “I begin making an attempt to chase him down. I can’t discover him half the time as a result of he’s everywhere. So I lastly name his girlfriend at Indy. The third time I name her, she goes, ‘That’s not him.’ And I went, ‘Oh, my gosh, that’s over.’ However I stored after Tony, stored speaking to Harry, and I mentioned, ‘Might we work a deal right here?’” Certainly, Stewart was splitting time between USAC and occasional Busch (Xfinity) excursions with Bobby Labonte’s workforce in 1996–97. This made it almost not possible to pin him down. Gibbs’ persistence—calling Stewart’s circle, negotiating with Ranier, and promising him a transparent growth path—broke by way of the chaos and set the wheels in movement.

Stewart himself admitted he resisted a direct leap to the Cup. The 84-year-old mentioned, “I’m not prepared for Cup… They wished me to drive Cup. I’m not prepared nonetheless. So we put him in Xfinity.” Somewhat than pressure a untimely Cup debut, Gibbs bought Labonte Motorsports in late 1998 to create his Busch program and let Stewart sharpen his stock-car expertise. Stewart wrecked repeatedly, typically thrice in a single observe. However these crashes taught him automobile management on pavement, not like his USAC grime background. In 1998, he didn’t win, however he completed eighth in Busch factors and gained invaluable expertise.

In 1999, Stewart’s rookie Cup season netted three victories and Rookie of the Yr honors, instantly validating Gibbs’ gamble. Stewart went on to win his first Cup championship in 2002. Simply 4 years after Gibbs first “freaked out” on the concept of signing him, he turned one in every of NASCAR’s most versatile stars throughout USAC, IndyCar, and inventory automobiles.

That’s only one success story of the Joe Gibbs playbook. However can he do the identical together with his grandson? That’s a query floating round quite a bit lately.

Might Joe Gibbs shift gears after his grandson’s NASCAR setback?

On the subject of household, Joe Gibbs not often reveals his hand. Nevertheless, his grandson Ty Gibbs’s rocky 2025 Cup season could have even prompted “Coach” to loosen his grip on protocol. Ty began the yr praising his crew chief, Tyler Allen. “Your calm, your race craft—it’s precisely what we want,” he mentioned at Daytona. But by way of 18 races, Ty sat twenty fourth in factors with zero wins and solely three high‑10 finishes. That efficiency prompted a daring transfer. JGR elevated veteran Chris Gabehart, Denny Hamlin’s former crew chief, right into a extra hands-on position with the No. 54 automobile.

The shift was telling. Gibbs put in Gabehart in Atlanta’s pit field for a “tag workforce” setup with Allen, hoping to speed up Ty’s studying curve. Regardless of main 32 laps there, Ty completed 14th after contact. A modest enchancment however nonetheless wanting Victory Lane. Sources say Joe has been quietly weighing even more durable choices if outcomes don’t comply with.

The query now could be, will Gibbs’s steely aggressive intuition yield to familial loyalty? A number of insiders counsel he’s able to do no matter it takes, even breaking character to coax a win out of his grandson. In spite of everything, he constructed his popularity chasing champions onto his groups. And if the blueprint that labored for Tony Stewart has taught us something, it’s that typically the hardest love is what brings out one of the best.