“Thanks for this honor. I want to thank the National Motorsports Press Association for honoring me and I really, really appreciate it. And I think also about what do you guys mean to our sport? You bring the information to our fans, which is hugely important for us. Our fans are what make us go.
“And then, of course, what’s different about our sport, motorsports, is the fact that you’ve got to have sponsors. OK? Football? Hey, we didn’t need a sponsor. You’re going to play football. But over here in racing we’ve got to have sponsors to get the resources to race our cars.
“And what are the sponsors interested in? The attention that you the media give them. So it’s a huge deal for us and I want to say a big thanks for that.
“Anytime you receive an award like this, you always reflect on all the people that made this possible. Obviously it’s not me, that’s for sure. In my case it’s my family. You think about J.D. (Gibbs), the president here at Joe Gibbs Racing, Coy, my other son who runs our motocross team and has a huge influence on all that we do in racing. Pat, and then I’ve got my grandkids coming and a couple of them are racing. Hang on! When they get old enough I’m sure they going to make a splash and probably give you guys a little trouble.
“And then of course I reflect back on the drivers and the crew chiefs that got us here to where we are today over these 25 years. Anytime I get an award like this I reflect back on the fact that it’s been amazing for me the way down through history God has picked some very average people and given them some of the greatest experiences in the world. I’m smart enough to know that I’ve been one of the most blessed people on earth. I’ve had two great experiences from an occupational standpoint – it’s been football and now it’s been racing. I’ve been blessed and I thank God for that.
“The other thing that I want to do is thank the other people that accepted awards here. Al Unser, hey, we all know what you’ve meant to the sport. I’ve really admired you from afar. Why didn’t you get over here and race some of these cars for us?
“And then of course Rick Hendrick. I made a decision, J.D. and I did, to try and get into racing. And the first phone call we made, think about this, the play on words here. I had my best friend Don Meredith, not the football Don Meredith, but Don Meredith and myself Joe Gibbs … we put in a phone call to Jimmy Johnson, the general manage for Rick Hendrick. Think about that phone call.
“And Rick was nice enough to let Jimmy start working with us. I always reflect back to those days of trying to put the race team together and Jimmy helping us.
“I remember one of our very first meetings was to Richard Petty. We’re sitting there at the table and Richard was sitting in a big, high-backed chair and he looked down at me and he goes, ‘Now what do you want, why are you over here?’
“And I said, ‘Well I’m thinking about getting in racing.’
“And he looked at me and he goes ‘Why?’
“That’s a pretty good question, I’ve got to tell you. I’m not so sure I shouldn’t be mad at Rick. When I came down here, I was in absolutely no debt and now I’m racing cars and I’m knee-deep in debt.
