News from Monday's Charlotte Media Tour:
JD Gibbs, Joe Gibbs and Kyle Busch announce multi-year contract
Joe Gibbs Racing announced it has signed driver Kyle Busch to a "multi-year" contract that will keep the defending NASCAR Nationwide Series champion with the team for the next several seasons.
"It's something we've been working on for a while," said J.D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing. "We probably could've announced this earlier. We were just getting some of the details ironed out and finalized. Watching him grow off the track as well as on the track has been exciting for us. We look forward to many years together racing up front."
Busch said there "wasn't much convincing needed" to come back to the team after the 2010 season, when his first contract was set to expire.
"We struggled a little bit through 2008 and unfortunately missed the Chase [in 2009]. But I see the organization is strong, I see the way Joey [Logano] really came along toward the end of the year and got a lot better. I see the way Denny [Hamlin] ran. I mean, shoot, he had a shot to win the championship.
"Our stuff is there. It's all about having the right people in the right place. Hopefully, [crew chief] Dave [Rogers] is that guy, and he and I can really develop a great relationship like Denny and [crew chief] Mike Ford have."
The team wouldn't say how many years the contract is, though Gibbs said they could announce that in the future.
"What does multi-year deal mean to me?" Busch said. "It means a secure future. Joe and J.D. were very receptive to my ideas, I was receptive to their ideas on how to further along our relationship and our commitment to each other, and to do that was to get the deal done, show our sponsors that we're committed to each other and the people in the shop worried, 'Well,is Kyle Busch going to be here or not?' We put all that to rest."
All of Joe Gibbs Racing's drivers made an appearance at Charlotte Motor Speedway's Nationwide Series garage, filling up eight of the track's new frontstretch seats.
In addition to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Busch, Logano and Hamlin, NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers Matt DiBenedetto and Brad Coleman were there, as were NASCAR Camping World East Series drivers Darrell Wallace Jr., Brent Moffitt and Max Gresham.
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Photo and text via NASCARMedia
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