Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 6, 1993 TAG: 9303060180
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
`OTHER TEAM' NOT SHOCKED BY GIBBS NEWS
When the phone rang next to Jimmy Makar's hotel bed 1:30 Friday morning, he knew who was calling."Joe always calls at midnight, 1 in the morning, because that's when he has time after coaching work," said Makar, the crew chief for Joe Gibbs Racing. "I figured this was no big deal."
It was.
It took Gibbs only a couple of words to awaken Makar. That's because his boss was talking a different sport than usual to the crew chief.
"He told me he was going to retire from coaching," Makar said. "At least that's what I thought he said. He asked me to tell the other guys on the team."
Gibbs' retirement as the Washington Redskins' coach didn't seem to shock his other team, the one that will run the Interstate Batteries Lumina on Sunday in the Pontiac Excitement 400.
Driver Dale Jarrett, Makar's brother-in-law, stood outside the Gibbs' team trailer and answered questions. Makar was in the garage at Richmond International Raceway, polishing the Lumina's windshield about nine hours after Gibbs phoned.
"I wasn't stunned, but I guess I was surprised it was now," Makar said. "Joe had been mentioning the past few weeks that he was very tired. But I didn't have any idea until he called.
"Anybody who knows Joe knows the hours he keeps, how hard he's driven himself, that he sleeps in his office during the season. That can beat up a man."
Makar said Gibbs plans to attend Sunday's Winston Cup race at RIR. The former coach's NASCAR team is off to an impressive start in 1993, with Jarrett driving to a Daytona 500 victory and a sixth-place finish last weekend at Rockingham, N.C.
"Joe never said how long he intended to coach when I first talked to him about driving his car," Jarrett said. "I asked him how long he intended to be in racing and he said `a long time,' and that was what I wanted to hear."
Makar told other Gibbs team members the news Friday morning, and the old coach would have been happy to see that most of their motion and emotion was spent on how well the Lumina was running.
The crew chief said Gibbs didn't talk about how much more time he plans to spend with what is now his only team. Last season, his first as a NASCAR team owner, Gibbs was present for most races until mid-April, when the Redskins began to emphasize the draft and preseason work.
"J.D. [Gibbs' oldest son and a former William and Mary football player] is working with the team now, so I know Joe will be around more to see him," Makar said. "He's also talked about wanting to get to the West Coast some to watch Coy [Gibbs' younger son] play football for Stanford.
"He can be here every day if he wants. Joe's a fun guy to be around. He tells great stories and personally, I can learn from him. The kind of leader he's proven he is, it would be nice to have some of that rub off on me.
"He's a competitor. I hope, at least, he'll be able to come to every race now. I think he can be a good influence on the whole team."
Jarrett has driven the Gibbs-owned Chevy to $260,085 in winnings in only two races this year after a $418,648 debut in 1992 that included eight top-10 finishes, but no victories.
In the garage area at RIR, the running joke was that Gibbs was dropping football because he won Daytona.
"I thought about that after he told me," Makar said, laughing. "I guess after what happened at Daytona, Joe found another sport he could be a winner in, huh?"
There also was a certain irony in the timing of Gibbs' retirement - and not only the scheduled appearance of the Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys at the White House today.
Through the NFL Properties' sponsorship with Gibbs Racing, Jarrett wears a different helmet painted in various NFL team colors and logos. After winning Daytona in a Dallas helmet - much to Gibbs' mocked chagrin - Jarrett runs Sunday's race wearing the helmet of Gibbs' 12-year employer.
"The Redskins' loss is our gain," said the 36-year-old driver. "Joe being here more can only be good for us. That feeling he gave the Redskins - staying focused and being positive - can work for us, too."
Keywords:
AUTO RACING