/ AP file

Joe Gibbs has been deeply involved in the day-to-day operations of the NASCAR team since 1993, his second season as a car owner but first without the distraction of football.

updated 8:14 p.m. ET Jan. 9, 2004

Bobby Labonte believes Joe Gibbs Racing can remain among the elite NASCAR operations even with his boss returning to the Washington Redskins.

“This is the time he can go and do this and feel comfortable with it because of the people he’s got at the race shop,” said Labonte, who gave Gibbs the first of his two Winston Cup championships.

Gibbs signed a five-year contract Wednesday to coach the Redskins, whom he led to three Super Bowl titles before resigning after the 1992 season to concentrate on his fledgling racing operation.

“If this were five or seven years ago, he wouldn’t do this,” Labonte said. “But he feels the timing is right for him to go coach and be gone from the shop.”

Gibbs has been deeply involved in the day-to-day operations of the team since 1993, his second season as a car owner but first without the distraction of football. He quickly applied his organization skills from football to racing, and won the 1993 Daytona 500 — NASCAR’s premier event — with driver Dale Jarrett.

The team continued its steady progress through the 1990s and won the title in 2000 with Labonte. Although Tony Stewart gave Gibbs a second championship in 2002, the team owner said success in NASCAR was not easily achieved.

“Believe me, those Winston Cup championships were hard to win,” Gibbs said late last season. “It’s just like football, it’s people, not Xs and Os. Team chemistry is the hardest thing I’ve experienced in my professional career.

“And you have to have a lot of faith and luck, too, because the competition is so fierce, whether it’s football or racing.”

As much as Gibbs loves stock car racing, football was never far from his thoughts, and he was constantly reminded of his link to the game. On the NASCAR circuit, Gibbs is called “Coach,” and Stewart can see why. It’s all about organization and motivation.

“After working with Joe for a number of years, I know his commitment to winning is unmatched,” Stewart said. “He’s always been a coach, and football has always been very close to him.

“Fans of the Redskins should be very happy.”

Jarrett’s victory at Daytona was the first of 40 for Gibbs, who said Wednesday he remains “personally committed” to his racing operation.

Eldest son J.D. is team president and son Coy is working with the team and pursuing a driving career. He finished 14th last season in the Busch series standings.

J.D. will continue to run the team from its Charlotte, N.C., headquarters, and the drivers and key personnel and sponsors have long-term deals.