Joe Gibbs and Reggie White Team For Late Model Development Program

Joe Gibbs announced that he has teamed with former NFL great Reggie White to form a late model development team that will attempt to showcase minority drivers. “Reggie approached me and expressed an interest in racing”, noted Gibbs, who found a second career in racing after he left football. Gibbs, who has won two Winston Cup championships as a team owner, refereed back to the mentoring he received from other team owners like Rick Hendrick.

In many ways Gibbs has indicated that this is an opportunity for him to give back what the sport has given to him Gibbs will mentor White to assist in the formation of one to five late models team based in the Charlotte North Carolina area. “We will scour the country and find talented kids”, noted Gibbs who indicated that prospective candidates would participate in tryouts and those who show potential would be scholarship into the racing program. The emphasis on minority drivers is an attempt to bring the sport of racing to communities who have not been exposed to motor sports.

“We are not doing this because someone asked us”, said Gibbs. “We are dong this because it is right”.

For his part, White indicated that he caught the racing bug after his first visit to a track. Realizing he wanted to be a part of the sport, he turned to Gibbs for guidance. “It is exciting to help what may potentially be the next Tiger Woods, but in NASCAR,” noted the former Super Bowl Veteran.

“Minorities are not being exposed to the types of corporations and are having a tough time gaining exposure to NASCAR”.

We are partnering under the auspice of Joe Gibbs Racing to ultimately create an entity for myself to have my own team”. Although not ruled out there are no immediate plans to field a car in 2003, but efforts are on line to start the program before the start of the 2004 season.