Joe Gibbs Racing Forms Motocross and Supercross Team

 

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (Aug. 27, 2007) – Since debuting in the 1991 Daytona 500 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Joe Gibbs Racing has won over 100 races in NASCAR and in the NHRA. In 2008, the veteran racing organization will continue to add to its rich history, but in addition to winning races on four wheels, they’ll also attempt to do it using only two.

 

Joe Gibbs Racing Motocross (JGRMX) is the latest venture of the 16-year-old race team founded by Joe Gibbs, the Pro Football Hall of Famer and current head coach of the Washington Redskins. Gibbs’ youngest son, Coy, will head up the operation, along with motocross industry veteran David Evans.

 

The two have already secured the services of riders Josh Hansen and Josh Summey, as JGRMX will campaign both riders in the World Supercross GP and American Motorcyclists Association (AMA) Supercross Series, and also the AMA National Motocross Championship.

 

Hansen is a 23-year-old from Lake Elsinore, Calif., and Summey is a 24-year-old from Stanley, N.C. Both riders have relocated to Huntersville, home to JGRMX’s race shop, just a quarter-mile away from Joe Gibbs Racing’s gleaming facilities of its NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series and NASCAR Busch Series teams.

 

The son of 1982 AMA Supercross champion Donnie Hansen, Josh Hansen has been competing professionally for six years, with his best season coming in 2005 when he scored five podium finishes and ended the season tied for the championship in the AMA Supercross Lites division. Injuries hampered Hansen’s efforts the past two years, but he joins JGRMX recovered and renewed for 2008.

 

Summey has been racing professionally since 2001. He moved into the AMA Premiere Motocross division in 2006 and notched five top-10 finishes. In 2007, Summey finished 11^th overall in World Supercross GP points and 10^th overall in the AMA Supercross Series championship.

 

Hansen and Summey will make their JGRMX debut Jan. 5 at the opening round of the World Supercross GP and AMA Supercross Series in Anaheim, Calif. The World Supercross GP and AMA Supercross Series is considered the world’s premier action sports venue. The 17-stop tour begins January in Anaheim and culminates May 3 in Las Vegas. All events take place inside stadiums, with each race televised on either Speed or CBS. Every event is broadcast live on www.supercrossonline.com.

 

JGRMX will also compete in the AMA National Motocross Championship. The 12-race schedule begins in May and lasts through September, with all of its events encompassing two days at rural venues throughout the United States. Considered the original action sport, the AMA National Motocross Championship is televised on Speed and broadcast live on www.motocross.com.

 

Jeremy Albrecht is JGRMX’s team manager. The 35-year-old from Reche Canyon, Calif., is a motocross veteran, having ridden and wrenched motorcycles for years. Albrecht raced as an amateur for several seasons before becoming a mechanic in 1990 for his brother Joel on the professional circuit. In 1994, Albrecht worked with X-Games gold medalist Tommy Clowers, and in 1995 he paired with Jeff Emig, one of the top motocross riders of the 1990s. Albrecht accompanied Emig to four titles, assistance that helped earn Emig a 2004 induction into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame. Following his tenure with Emig, Albrecht became James “Bubba” Stewart’s mechanic in 2002, where the duo produced seven championships. In all, Albrecht has 11 major championships as a tuner, eight AMA Mechanic of the Year awards, two LiveNation Mechanic of the Year titles and the 2006 Mechanix Wear Outstanding Achievement award.

 

“We plan to win with people, which is the same blueprint that allowed Joe Gibbs Racing to win in NASCAR and the NHRA,” said Coy Gibbs, who enjoyed riding motorcycles as a youth before working his way up from a mechanic in the NHRA to competing in the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and, ultimately, the NASCAR Busch Series. “The engineers that have won three Nextel Cup championships are the same engineers who will lend support to JGRMX. We feel like we’ve assembled a core group of people who will make JGRMX succeed and grow. 

 

“We’re also unique to the sport in that we have all of the team components in one small geographic area. Our race shop, test tracks, trainer, staff and riders are all based out of the Huntersville area and will work closely together, not just on race day, but every day. The goal for 2008 is to make every main event by tuning our machines properly, maintaining a professional presence and giving our riders everything they need to be successful. Hard work and constant reinvestment in the team will position JGRMX as a team that can contend for the podium against the world’s best.” 

 

Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is one of the premier organizations in NASCAR, currently fielding three NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series teams, two NASCAR Busch Series teams and a driver development program. Its driver lineup consists of Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and J.J. Yeley in Nextel Cup; Hamlin, Stewart, Aric Almirola, Kevin Conway and Brad Coleman in Busch; and Marc Davis and Joey Logano in the NASCAR Busch East Series. Based in Huntersville, N.C., and owned by Joe Gibbs – a three-time Super Bowl-winning coach, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and current coach of the Washington Redskins – JGR has competed in NASCAR since 1992, winning three Cup Series championships and over 70 NASCAR races, including three Brickyard 400s and the 1993 Daytona 500.