NascarNow reports Gibbs to Toyota

[Jonesi]

Announcement Wed am.

Still to be worked out, Tony's deals with Chevy.


also more confirmation on, Regan Smith in #01 next year & Mark/Aric in #8.

[Mark in Oshawa]

If Gibbs goes to Toyota, it shows that Toyota is tired of being made to look like the fools. Of course, any of us could of told them that MWR wasn't going to be a good choice for the flagship team......

[Jonesi]

Every manufacturer that gets into a top tier series (F1 CART/IRL NASCAR) looks bad for at least the first year.


http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/news/story?seriesId=2&id=2998134

[BenRoethig]

Every manufacturer that gets into a top tier series (F1 CART/IRL NASCAR) looks bad for at least the first year.


http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/news/story?seriesId=2&id=2998134

Dodge didn't look anywhere near this bad.

[trumperZ06]

;) $$$ Toyota $$$... going to Gibbs racing... and Gibbs has had success running NA$CAR's new COT !!!

:D This likely makes Gibbs the number 1 team for Toyota... and Gibbs has as STRONG a driver line-up as anyone else in Cup racing. Looks like the making of a very formidable team to me.

[BobbyC]

Tony has the power of the veto as the veteran in this group (finishing his 9th year at JGR). As such, I would not be surprised to see him veto this deal, and that's still holding up any potential deal, and if that is the case, Smoke is going to push his way to one make, and that would just irritate the Torrance (Toyota USA) people.

His Chevrolet deal includes Midget, Sprint, Silver Crown, WoO (both disciplines), late model (asphalt and dirt), and safety car/trucks at Eldora.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Joe Gibbs will be with Toyota according to the wire story on TSN :

http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/news_story/?ID=217245&hubname=auto_racing

[Jonesi]

Kyle Busch confirms Toyota deal
http://www.scenedaily.com/stories/2007/08/27/scene_daily56.html

[ms0362]

Looks like Busch has already got his butt in a sling by spilling the beans to the media before Gibbs could have his big announcement. Ahhh these big mouth boys,,,, glimpses of scenes to come,,,,

[RaceFanStan]

No doubt Kyle Busch will be in trouble with the new boss. :eek:
The young man needs to learn that there will be times he needs to remain silent. :s

[Jonesi]

http://www.speedtv.com/articles/nextel/nascar/39998/
http://www.joegibbsracing.com/season_2007/news_misc/070905_toyota.php

[RaceFanStan]

Yeah, let's switch to a manufacturer that has NO cars in the top 35 ..... http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/rolleyes.gif

[jslone]

I dont see an issue with JGR next year,now who knows how long it will take to learn how the cars work for each driver and team.

[Sparky1329]

So much for a Tony Stewart veto. He says he's excited about the deal.

[call_me_andrew]

Yeah, let's switch to a manufacturer that has NO cars in the top 35 ..... http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/rolleyes.gif

They'd be doing a lot better if Michael Waltrip wasn't the lynch-pin of their operations.

It's not like the manufacturers matter now anyway.

[Hoss Ghoul]

Questions now:

Does Toyota surpass Dodge next year?

Does Stewart blow up before Indy if they have no wins?

Wanna bet that 4th RCR car happens now?

Odds Chevrolet doesn't continue to dominate anyways?

[BenRoethig]

Yeah, let's switch to a manufacturer that has NO cars in the top 35 ..... http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/rolleyes.gif

They're going poorly because their three teams are a former winning up team that hasn't had factory support for years and is way behind the curve (BDR), a startup organization who is apparently incompetent (MWR), and a startup from F1 who has shown flashes of being competitive yet apparently can't quite figure out that NASCAR is a complete different ballgame from the open wheel side where they haven't won either (TRB).

[RaceFanStan]

With the success of Joe Gibbs Racing this year with CHEVROLET .....
Toyota will be guaranteed to at least start the 1st 5 races NEXT year ..... http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/rolleyes.gif

[trumperZ06]

Yeah, let's switch to a manufacturer that has NO cars in the top 35 ..... http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/rolleyes.gif

:rolleyes: Next year's COT is almost identical from one team to another. The major difference between teams will be the Engines.

;) Gibbs brings a Competitive chassis, a whole lot of experience in NA$CAR racing, and Three top notch drivers to Toyota.

People in the pits seem to think Toyota's engines are competitive on horsepower.

:D IMO... Initially, Toyota gains more than JGR. Long term, this makes JGR the number one Toyota factory backed team, something JGR would never have with Chevy.

[Vez]

I found this blog piece, I thought the quote was quite funny;
http://nascar-bits.blogspot.com/2007/09/gibbs-has-not-signed-toyota-yet.html

NB: the date for this blog piece was Sept 2

[Jonesi]

Hoss Ghoul: Questions now:

>Does Toyota surpass Dodge next year?
Probably. Engines need a little more reliability and mid range power. Gibbs CoTs are probably the best out there right now. I'm sure Toyota expects Gibb's info to filter down to other teams.

>Does Stewart blow up before Indy if they have no wins?
Mt Stewart can blow at any time and winning doesn't necessarily negate that ;-)

>Wanna bet that 4th RCR car happens now?
Most likely, although not until Burton's #31 is solidly funded for next year.

>Odds Chevrolet doesn't continue to dominate anyways?
I think Chevy will still have the most cars in The Chase next year and maybe still have the majority.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Gibbs wants to be the number one team with someone, and that wasn't happening at Chevy. It is like they never forgave him for running Pontiacs (never mind that they were both GM)in the beginning. With Toyota, they will bring their excellent chassis, their top drawer engineering and mechanical talent, and with the COT, all they really need to do is swap the engines because the rest of the car that has been the best COT chassis all season (luck has been an issue, not how well they have run). If the engines do the job, they will maybe not lose any ground, and Toyota can now say they have a top team on their roster. They could NOT even say they had a good second tier team on the program before.

Toyota isnt in this to lose people, and remember, Gibbs likely took a ton of money to switch. What is more, there is likely some performance clauses if TRD doesn't provide the motor help that JGR will require.

Remarkable how Coach Gibbs showed up with that little green 18 one year.....and now is running one of the best teams in NASCAR. The man is an organizational genius and I would hate to bet against T-Stew winning a Championship with a Toyota.