Did Tony Stewart drive for Joe Gibbs Racing? All you need to know

Former NASCAR driver Tony Stewart drove for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) from 1999 to 2008. Driving the No. 20 car with The Home Depot as the main sponsor, Stewart had a successful career, winning Cup Series championships in 2002 and 2005.

Stewart joined the team in 1998 and competed in 22 NASCAR Xfinity Series races. The next year, he moved to JGR full-time to compete in the NASCAR Cup Series, winning three races.In his rookie season, he finished fourth in the points standings and won the Winston Cup Rookie of the Year award.

He won his first championship with JGR, beating Mark Martin, in 2002. His second title win in 2005 made him the only driver to win championships under both the Chase and non-Chase formats.

Tony Stewart competed in over 350 races in nine years with Joe Gibbs and registered 33 wins. The Columbus, Indiana, native joined forces with Gene Haas and became the owner-driver at Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009.

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"My risk was leaving a championship-winning team" - Tony Stewart on giving up Joe Gibbs Racing for Stewart Haas Racing

Tony Stewart's last years with Joe Gibbs Racing were challenging. In 2006, he endured his worst season, getting injured and not making it to Chase. He won three races and finished sixth the next year, but after switching to Toyota in 2008, his performances dropped.

Stewart left in June 2008 and joined Haas CNC Racing. He later bought half of the team from Gene Haas and returned to Chevrolet. In a 2023 interview, Stewart shared his thoughts on taking a big risk when he left JGR to join a team with a worse ranking.

"I think I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to partner with a guy (Gene Haas) that is an extremely smart businessman and built a great business from the ground up that has the ability to have sustainability. But not all these partners have that opportunity," Stewart said (via on3.com).

"I think my risk was I was leaving a championship-winning team (Joe Gibbs Racing) that I’d won two championships with and leaving that organization to venture out with an organization that had a car 34th and 36th in the points at the time. That was my big risk," he added.

Tony Stewart, 53, retired from full-time racing in the Cup Series after the 2016 season. Stewart Haas Racing shut down last year after Stewart left and Haas moved to the Haas Factory Team.