By: Kelly Crandall | November 30, 2018 11:10 AM With Champion’s Week in Las Vegas complete, the book has been closed on the 2018 season. Meaning, it’s time for Martin Truex Jr. to shift from Furniture Row to Joe Gibbs Racing.“It’s an end of an era, for sure, but we had a hell of a good run,” Truex said. “And came close to being a storybook ending.”The work begins next week for Cole Pearn. Truex’s longtime crew chief is relocating from Colorado and will soon be in the JGR shop prepping for ’19 with the No. 19 team. Truex says Blake Harris, who had been his car chief, will also remain with him, as will one of his engineers, in the otherwise new operation.“It’s going to be a different cast of characters now, so it’s all going to be new and we’re going to have to figure it,” said Truex. “For me, I’m confident we’ll figure it out because of the people around us. Especially with Cole leading the charge. I know he can get the best out of everybody and that was really the key to our success — him figuring out how to get the most out of everybody, putting the right people in the right places.

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“It’s going to be hard to duplicate the cast of characters we had, there’s no question, but if anyone can do it, it’s him. I’m excited about that and knowing we’re in a place where we feel comfortable and have confidence in the people there and what they can do. We’ll just see what we can make happen.”Truex spoke positively about the change, noting that the already existing relationship between FRR and Gibbs not only helped him get this opportunity, but ensured there won’t be a lot that is new to him. Truex is already familiar with the Gibbs organization, people, cars and equipment. Plus, Truex said over the last few years Furniture Row was on the same page with what Gibbs did since the two groups were in an alliance. Of course, Truex beat the house team for the 2017 title. In his five years at Furniture Row, Truex and company gradually improved their performance and ended with 17 wins. For as good as things were over the last few years, Truex doesn’t believe that’s over.

By: Kelly Crandall | January 11, 2019 11:07 PM J.D. Gibbs, who prompted his father, Joe Gibbs, to first enter the motorsports world, on Friday. He was 49.The oldest son of the NASCAR Hall of Fame owner, J.D. had been battling a degenerative neurological disease. In 2015 he underwent treatment for symptoms that were impacting areas of brain function, including speech and cognitive processing. The origin of the illness was never diagnosed, although doctors suspected it was likely related to head injuries suffered earlier in his life.Born Jason Dean Gibbs on February 21, 1969, J.D. led an outgoing and active lifestyle. A defensive back and quarter from 1987-’90, Gibbs attended The College of William and Mary in Virginia.“J.D. gains his strength from the fact that he has a personal relationship with the Lord, and I have got to tell you that he’s my hero when I kind of watch him,” Joe Gibbs said in 2015 when giving an update on his son’s condition. “I don’t know that anybody has ever deal with anything as courageous as J.D. does.“He went through a situation with his son Taylor having leukemia at two, and we fought through that for about three or four years. J.D. through his entire life has probably been the most courageous person that I’ve ever been around or knew.”Joe Gibbs Racing was formed in 1992 and J.D. was named the president of the company in October 1997. When Joe Gibbs headed back to the NFL, it was J.D. who took the company’s reins and led it through the mid-2000s.Under his guidance, JGR began to expand into what it has become today. Gibbs signed Denny Hamlin, who would win the Daytona 500 in 2016, and brought in Kyle Busch. In 2015, Busch won the organization’s fourth premier series championship.During that time, Joe Gibbs Racing made the switch from Chevrolet to Toyota and expanded to four cars in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and three in the Xfinity Series. J.D. was also instrumental in the company moving to Toyota Racing Development engines.Gibbs was named co-chairman of Joe Gibbs Racing alongside his father in February 2016. Behind the wheel, Gibbs made 29 starts from 1997-2002 between the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, Camping World Truck and Xfinity Series.