Jason Dean Gibbs (February 21, 1969 – January 11, 2019) was an American professional

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...

driver and co-owner of

Joe Gibbs Racing Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professional stock car racing organization founded by Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs. His son, J. D. Gibbs, ran the team with him until his death in 2019. Founded in Huntersville, North Carolina, ...

. He also played college football at the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public university, public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III of England, William III and Queen ...

Early life and education

J. D. Gibbs was born on February 21, 1969, near

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California. At the time his father, Joe Gibbs, was the assistant coach at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. His mother is the former Patricia Escobar. During Gibbs' childhood, he moved several times before settling in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

He attended and graduated from Oakton High School in

Vienna, Virginia Vienna () is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Vienna has a population of 16,473. Significantly more people live in ZIP codes with the Vienna postal addresses (22180, 22181, ...

. Gibbs then attended the

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It had a population of 15,425 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern par ...

, where he was a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

and

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the

William & Mary Tribe The William & Mary Tribe is a moniker for the College of William & Mary's athletic teams and the university's community more broadly. William & Mary has won two team national championships (both in men's tennis), the AIAW championships in wo ...

during the 1987 to 1990 seasons, while his father coached for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

. He helped the school team to two Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) playoff appearances; the team won ten games in his senior season.

Racing career

In July 1991, after college, he became employed with

, a team his father started in July 1991. The team, with only six employees, started racing with Dale Jarrett as the driver in

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

. In 1993, Gibbs was a tire changer on the team and was part of the 1993 Daytona 500 winning team. In the mid-1990s, J. D. started racing in the

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

Camping World East Series, as well as late-model events in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. Afterward, he started racing in the

Craftsman Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock car racing, s ...

and

Busch Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

. In 1998, Gibbs became president of his father's team. After being the president for six years, his father returned to the Redskins after a 12-year hiatus. In 2007, he was rejoined with his father, once he retired for the second time.

Personal life

Gibbs married his wife Melissa (née Miller), and they had four sons, Joe Jackson, William Miller, Jason Dean II, and Zachary Taylor. He was a major contributor and former member of Young Life, a non-denominational Christian organization for adolescents and he was honored with Young Life’s Posthumous Alumni Achievement Award. As a tribute to his legacy, in 2025,

partnered with Young Life to introduce the number 19 Young Life NASCAR Xfinity racecar, driven by Aric Almirola.

Illness and death

In May 2015, it was announced that Gibbs was battling "conditions related to brain function". Over the ensuing years, his public appearances and involvement in the team became less frequent as the symptoms slowly began to show. He died at his home in

Davidson, North Carolina Davidson is a suburban town in Mecklenburg, Iredell, and Cabarrus counties, North Carolina, United States. It is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 15,106 at the 2020 census, up from 10,944 in 2010. The town was ...

, on January 11, 2019. A memorial service was held at Davidson College's John M. Belk Arena on January 25, 2019, where he was eulogized by his wife Melissa, his

father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fat ...

, his brother Coy, and his best friends Dave Alpern and Moose Valliere.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Busch Series

Craftsman Truck Series

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbs, J. D. 1969 births 2019 deaths Joe Gibbs Racing Joe Gibbs Racing drivers NASCAR drivers NASCAR team owners Neurological disease deaths in North Carolina Oakton High School alumni People from Davidson, North Carolina Players of American football from Los Angeles Racing drivers from Los Angeles Racing drivers from North Carolina Sportspeople from Mecklenburg County, North Carolina William & Mary Tribe football players