DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Joe Gibbs is back in NASCAR.
Quick, hide the headsets! “We have to make sure we keep a radio out of his hands that he can actually talk on during the race,” driver Tony Stewart said.
“As long as he doesn’t have a radio he can talk on, then it shouldn’t change things too much.” He’s kidding, of course.
“Obviously, having him back around is huge,” Stewart said.
“He’s a great person and a great, great leader. He’s great at motivating people and putting the right people in the right positions. When you have someone that strong at doing what he does, then how can it be bad to have him back?”
But heading into Sunday’s Daytona 500, Stewart didn’t exactly give Gibbs a chance to ease his way back into NASCAR.
Gibbs had to make an unscheduled trip to Daytona International Speedway last weekend after Stewart tangled with Kurt Busch on the track and, as is widely believed but was never confirmed or denied, punched Busch in the NASCAR officials’ trailer after the incident.
“It’s not where you want to start, but obviously it’s part of it,” Gibbs said.
Still, Gibbs said he’s fired up about getting back to racing.
After an emotionally trying season in his second stint as head coach of the Washington Redskins, Gibbs decided to put away his playbook in January. Now the NFL Hall of Famer spends his days overseeing his NASCAR team and helping tend to a sick 3-year-old grandson, who is undergoing chemotherapy treatments for leukemia.
