Joe Gibbs Racing President Unravels the Reason Behind Ditching Chevrolet and Joining Forces With Toyota

The Joe Gibbs Racing team has been in operation since 1992 and has been going strong to this day. Since its inception, JGR has linked up with Chevrolet, Pontiac, and their current partners, Toyota, since 2008. But what pushed the team to suddenly make the jump from Chevrolet to the Japanese manufacturer?

Well, Joe Gibbs Racing president Dave Alpern spoke about the switch. Frankly, it was a massive gamble because Toyota back then had just one year of NASCAR experience. Given that the manufacturer has delivered two Cup titles since then, the gamble was worth it.

Was Chevrolet’s not paying enough attention to JGR?

Recently, Joe Gibbs Racing shared a video featuring the executive answering a fan question about the process of the transition. Talking about how their vision matched with the newly inducted Toyota, Alpern revealed, “We had won three championships with General Motors. Things were going well. Toyota came into the sport and was new, and we met with them and we really liked their focused approach to racing. They were going to have a smaller group, they were really focused more on quality than quantity. They were really embedding their people in the race team. We really liked that idea and there was a lot about their culture that we were aligned with. Made that really difficult decision in 2008.”

But Dave Alpern’s answer might lead curious minds to wonder whether things were not as peaceful behind the scenes with Chevrolet. Was the US manufacturer not giving enough attention to the team? While this is a discussion for another day, it seems JGR doesn’t have any regrets.

Further emphasizing how that “difficult decision” has paid in dividends in the last decade, the official further stated, “Since we made that switch, we won 351 races in the Xfinity and Cup Series. Set a number of records and had a lot of success. They’ve been an amazing partner and we look forward to a lot of years with them.”

Given that JGR has won titles with three different manufacturers, it just goes to show how they know what they’re doing. On the other hand, since the partnership, Toyota has grown and gained a foothold in the NASCAR Cup Series, too. Joe Gibbs Racing has also evolved alongside them, as a formidable force in the Cup Series arena, as well as Xfinity. But, while we are already aware of how Toyota has served them over the years, can the same be said about their other partners?

How was JGR’s NASCAR journey prior to Toyota?

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When they made their debut in the Cup Series, they were allied with Chevrolet, fielding one car until 1996. That car was none other than the #18 of Dale Jarrett. He ended a three-year stint with two wins and a best finish of 4th in 1993. For the next two years, which was Chevy’s final years with JGR, Bobby Labonte took over the reins, ending the stint with four wins.

From 1997 onwards, the organization switched to Pontiac. At the time, they were still running a one-car operation, but that lasted until 1999, when they expanded to two cars. A then-rookie Tony Stewart, driving the #20 car, partnered with the #18 Labonte. The following year, JGR and Pontiac achieved the zenith of their relationship with Bobby Labonte, winning the 2000 Cup Series championship.

Two years later, Stewart delivered Pontiac’s second title, before the organization went back to Chevrolet. During the second Chevy stint, Tony Stewart seized the 2005 Cup Series title for Joe Gibbs Racing. Aside from that, the team racked up 23 wins for Chevrolet.

The stats certainly look promising. But what about you? Do you think JGR took the right decision by switching to Toyota in 2008? Let us know what you think in the comments below!