How Joe Gibbs Plans to Keep His Joe Gibbs Racing NASCAR Team in the Family

When NASCAR and Pro Football Hall of Fame member Joe Gibbs created Joe Gibbs Racing more than three decades ago, he cited the opportunity to spend more time with his family, especially sons J.D. and Coy, as the reason for his decision.

Now, his quest is to keep JGR a family operation for many years to come.

Family Ties

Both J.D. and Coy are now gone, dying in 2019 and 2022, both at the age of 49. However, the team continues as a family operation, shifting to the 82-year-old executive’s grandchildren. There's plenty of branches of that tree now with plenty of racing experience:

• J.D.’s oldest son, Jackson, and Joe’s first grandchild is the front tire changer for Christopher Bell.

• Coy’s oldest son, Ty, and Joe’s second grandchild drives the No. 54 Toyota in NASCAR’s Cup Series.

• Joe’s third grandchild, Miller, and J.D.’s second of four sons will join the team in an executive position after his final football season at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.

• Ty’s mother, Heather, has assumed an ownership role at JGR, attending the NASCAR and Race Team Alliance meetings. Melissa, J.D.’s wife, also participates in meetings at JGR, but devotes most of her time to starting a Christian school in an old church building she has acquired.

“We control the future of the race team—the Gibbs family,” Joe says emphatically.

“Our first three grandkids all want to be involved with racing. I missed a lot of J.D.’s and Coy’s growing up because I was chasing football and all the things you do at that level in the NFL. When I came to racing … I was able to work with J.D. and Coy on a daily basis with the race team. I loved that. Now, I’m gonna get to see a number of the grandkids.

"We don’t know how many of them will want to be involved with the race team … but the first three look like they’re gonna be here and that’s exciting for me. Heather has a huge interest in racing … and that’s exciting for us.”

What Sale to HBSE Means to JGR

Joe says speculation that Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment and Arctos Partners, which became a minority investor in the team in June, bought out the Gibbs family is inaccurate. He says that ever since JGR was created they have always looked at ways to strengthen the operation financially without the Gibbs family relinquishing control of it.