| | | | | | EMBRACING CHANGE | Two-time champion Stewart welcomes changes to team | |
| | From NASCAR.com In a sport where changes and realignments are commonplace, Joe Gibbs Racing faces two major challenges for 2008 -- converting from Chevrolet to Toyota without sacrificing the team's competitive level and integrating newcomer Kyle Busch into a potent driver rotation that already includes Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin.
Stewart, for one, believes the timing is excellent for both undertakings.
"It's hard to know what's going to happen with the Toyota car yet," Stewart said. "We're obviously excited about having an opportunity that a lot of other people don't have. We're one of few teams that are going to be in the Toyota next year. After seeing the way they ran at Talladega in the fall race, we're pretty excited about going to Daytona.
"We're looking forward to that and the new challenges there. Obviously, with the change to being the COT cars all year, if this change [to Toyota] would have happened two years ago versus this year, it would have been a lot more dramatic change for all of us. But, really, it's just a power plant and some stickers, so that should make the change a lot easier for us. It's the right timing."
Busch, 22, comes to JGR after a successful-but-inconsistent early career that has seen him win four times in 114 Cup starts since 2004 -- including a victory in the first Car of Tomorrow race in March at Bristol.
Busch has baggage, too. His parting from Hendrick Motorsports wasn't a move of his own choosing -- owner Rick Hendrick provided the impetus after a falling out of sorts that began with Busch's "failure to appear" to drive the No. 5 Chevrolet after it was wrecked at Texas Motor Speedway in April. Busch had left the track, and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who replaces Busch at HMS in 2008, subbed for him in the car.
Busch's driving talent is undeniable, and Stewart is happy to have him in the Gibbs organization. If Stewart needed any reassurance, he got it during the COT test at Atlanta Motor Speedway in October.
"Having Kyle come on board is a lot of fun," Stewart said. "He's a good kid. He's got a great personality. He reminds me a lot of me. He says the wrong things at the wrong times, but you know where you stand with him. That part of it I appreciate, and I get along with him well.
"We had a chance to run with him in our cars at Atlanta at the test with the COT car, and we really had a lot of fun with him. I think his personality and his intensity and his competition level really is going to blend in with Denny and I. You want somebody that's going to push the organization and push your teammates to make you better. Having him there hopefully is going to bring us up even more."
Stewart's contract with Gibbs runs through 2009, but the driver of the No. 20 Toyota says he hasn't been working on an extension, an issue that surfaced when Gibbs announced the switch to Toyota earlier this year.
"We haven't even picked it back up again," Stewart said. "The good thing is we have two whole years, so I don't think anybody's in a big rush to get it done.
"I know during the offseason I'm taking time off and not doing anything. I'm not even going to talk about a stock car or look at one until I have to start back up in January [for testing at Daytona]. I'm going to relax and enjoy the offseason, and I'm sure when spring comes here, we'll get back to work at it."
| | Posted December 12, 2007 , 8:14 pm EST
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