Toyota Racing – David Wilson and Tyler Gibbs
NASCAR Quotes
RICHMOND, Va. (August 10, 2024) – TRD U.S.A President David Wilson and TRD U.S.A General Manager Tyler Gibbs were made available to the media on Saturday after Wilson’s upcoming retirement announcement this week.
DAVID WILSON, president, TRD U.S.A.
TYLER GIBBS, general manager, TRD U.S.A
Can you talk about your decision and what your tenure at TRD has meant to you?
WILSON: “First, I’ll say that I know how Martin Truex Jr. felt a few weeks ago. I’m generally pretty comfortable, after all of these years, sitting up here and talking to this group of people, but I’ll admit, I’m not today. I’m a bundle of nerves and here we are. I’m looking out at the crowd and I’m trying not to go around the room, because I know that I will just get emotional. To see so many people here that I care about, so many friends – means the world to me. The past couple of days have been completely overwhelming. The kindness and the generosity that I’ve seen come my way has truly been special and remarkable. It has been wildly uncomfortable because we come from a place – I come from a place – where we celebrate the team, and not the individual. At my very best day, I’m simply a reflection of this team – TRD and Toyota. The accomplishments – they are not my accomplishments; they are our accomplishments. For that, I’m so grateful and I’m so proud, but it is time to hand the keys over. I’m so proud of this guy (Tyler Gibbs) sitting next to me, and there is so many parallels coming up through the company for years. I enjoyed kind of toiling in the background. I enjoyed being that guy behind the scenes, and then somehow 10, 11 years I was thrust into this spotlight – if you will – and it really does seem like just the other day. Tyler Gibbs – no relation – will be great for our company, will continue to be great for our company. He’s incredibly well deserving of this. As a friend, I’m so happy for you, man.”
What does it mean to you to be following in David’s footsteps?
GIBBS: We were in Washington D.C. on Wednesday. One of the things we were talking about after the meeting that we had – we were both a bit uncomfortable with the release and the amount of congratulations that we received, and the number of people that responded. I’m going to apologize to Dave (Wilson) that I’m going to add to that. People particularly in this room and when they hear about TRD or think about TRD, they picture Dave. Dave is synonymous with Toyota in this garage and in this sport. Those are some really big shoes to fill. I’m humbled to be in this position. I’m excited about it. I think back when I got to TRD – TRD was a grown-up organization. When Dave started at TRD, TRD was 10 years old – we were a speed shop. You could buy some performance parts that we could put on your car, and we would even install them if you needed us too. We were getting into off road racing, and we were getting into sports cars. We were pretty new at this whole thing, and when you look at TRD and where we are now, the things that we can do, and the things we get to do and the things we’ve done over the last 35 years, Dave’s fingerprints are all over all of those things. Some of the accomplishments were mentioned, but there are so many off-track that people don’t see and don’t know that have built our organization into what it is. To be able to step-up into this opportunity, I shared with a number of people this week, it is a privilege to lead a team like we have at TRD. The team he has built over the last 35 years – he’s given us incredible opportunities day after day. It is just a humbling experience. We as a team are going to continue that tradition of success that Dave has built.”
What got you to this point?
WILSON: “It starts by really being in a position where you comfortably know that you can step back, and the team will move forward. I’ve known for years that Tyler (Gibbs) is the guy. He’s so much smarter than I am. He’s got a work ethic of an absolute animal, so it just started just having a level of trust and comfort that you are going to keep moving forward. The other side of it is – it is simply the clock. I turn 63 this year. There are some family circumstances that play their way into this. My wife and I adopted our two grandsons, so at 63, I’m changing diapers. I’ve got a one-year-old and a four-year-old at home and those boys need me, and I need them. There are some parallels with some of the people in this room with friends in the industry that I’ve made through that. Again, I’m at peace. My heart is full. While we are here, we are all wired to be competitive and we are still here because of what we do on track, many of my close friends have heard me, more recently, talk about what fuels my soul and what I will be most grateful for, and you are not going to find it in a box score, you are going to find it in the hearts of these people, and the trust and the relationship and the love that I’ve developed for so many people in this garage. Tyler and I talked about the intention and sometimes you lose sight of how many people you have touched over the years, and not only industry folks, and NASCAR, and teams – but competitors. My friends from Ford and Chevrolet to reach out – and I would like to think that Toyota’s entry in the sport has left a mark and that our sport is stronger for it, not me, but Toyota and the relationship, and the professional relationships we have with our competitors. It might seem strange, but I’m as proud of anything, because we share the same goals, and we can work together to help make our sport better and that is how it should be.”
What do you think your lasting legacy is?
WILSON: “It is pretty simple. I would like to believe that TRD is better than what it was when I got here. I would like to believe that our sport and Toyota’s position in our sport has left NASCAR in a better place. Coming back to when we entered 20 years ago, we didn’t have a relationship with the sanctioning body and we didn’t have a relationship with our competitors the way we do now, and so much has changed. I’m proud of the way the competitive model that Toyota brought to the sport. We’ve changed the way the sport goes racing. I love that. I love that. There is a lot that I’m really happy about and proud of.”
What do you think David’s lasting legacy is?
GIBBS: “You will know a few of them, just in terms of the team members you get to work with at the track, but on Tuesday, Dave (Wilson) shared his news with our (TRD) team members and the response from our team members was incredible. They recognize the opportunities that Dave has provided for them, so for me, it is TRD. It is our team. It is the people. Dave’s impact on TRD will go far, far beyond when he decides to walk out the door in December. For me, it’s that. His legacy is our people. It is our team. It is the culture that we have. It’s Dave’s humility. It’s his competitive nature, when he stands in front of our team members every week and talks about the different things that happened over a course of the weekend and what is going on in our business. It’s a family, and there is a huge element to that. Some of that can come off as cliché, and I don’t think our team members would take it at all that way. Our team members, if they were listening to this, would identify very, very personally with that.”
David, what would be your advice to Tyler?
WILSON: “There is not much advice I can give to Tyler (Gibbs). He’s so ready for this job. I think he has come to appreciate, as well, what I have come to appreciate – we are given this tremendous privilege and opportunity to lead and never forget that you are just the point person, the iceberg that sticks out of the water. There are a tremendous group of people behind you. Tyler knows that. The other side of it is more personal. This vocation that we have chosen, and I can look at every one here, they know what I’m talking about – the vocation that we’ve chosen is tough. It is a grind. You have to take care of yourself, mentally more than physically. I think Tyler is very balanced in that regard, and he is going to be just fine.”
Have you ever thought about changing your last name?
GIBBS (laughter): So, here’s my line, I’m not related to Uncle Joe (Gibbs). That’s what I’m going to tell people to just get people more confused. I’ve been at TRD for 28 years. I get texts for Ty (Gibbs) on occasion, so we swap back and forth, but outside of that, we are good.”
Was their one message this week that really stuck out to you?
WILSON: “So, there were several. Most of them are personal, but I’ll share one. I don’t think Joe (Gibbs) will mind. I got a text message from Joe Gibbs. It was one of the first ones, and he said I miss you already – Joe. It about made me cry. Joe and I have this ongoing kind of joke that we are going to write a book, and we talk about the chapters in this book, and we get through something, and we are like yep. That is another chapter and Joe and I talk about it. This industry, the competitive nature is something, and the folks that can get through that, that can endure the battles and come out of the end, they become closer for it. I love Joe. I spent some of my formable years in Virginia. I came into this sport, and I was thinking there is no way that I’m working with Coach Joe Gibbs, and that was just one that stuck me right in the heart.”
What was the biggest change that you saw?
WILSON: “Coming at it from the OEM level, I mentioned before – the ways we compete, the way we come to the race track. I want to say that we have moved the needle, but the participation that we have as a stakeholder in the sport – Toyota, Ford, Chevrolet – the relationships that we have with each other and the work we do collaboratively to advance our sport. 20 plus years ago, I don’t think that existed. We are competing for space. We are competing for many other forms entertainment and sports, and if we are not continually working on advancing our sport and bringing new fans to the race track, then we are going to fail. We are going to fall behind. I personalize it to the OEM’s because that is who we are, but it is not just us. It is the teams and that collaboration. The drivers, and how they work together for the betterment of the sport, just on the whole, it seems a lot more collaborative than what it was 20 years ago.”
What does leadership mean to you in respect toward younger drivers that you’ve seen grow throughout the years?
WILSON: “Leadership is certainly a bit of an intangible. The position doesn’t come with an entitlement of respect, that is something there or not, that is something that is earned. Again, in terms of my own sense of accomplishment, probably more important than anything else is I want to believe that I treated people whether they were friends, whether they were competitors, with kindness, with respect, with compassion. So, I think that’s a big part of being a leader. In terms of the TRD team, you can get into a little more of a granular level, but I certainly learned early on in my career – I came to work as a young engineer, I didn’t know what I was doing. I really didn’t. I’m so proud of that mechanical engineering degree I have from Virginia Tech and the relationship I have with that university. They’ve been so kind to me. But I was not a bright shining star in the list of their alumni. And I came to appreciate just the – when I left, I went straight into the service and I learned as a platoon leader that unless I have the support of my platoon sergeants and my squad leaders, I was doomed to fail. And I took those lessons everywhere I’ve been, and I surrounded myself with capable people and people that were instrumental in shaping a culture and a commitment of excellence. That’s a little bit of my view on leadership.”
Will you still be involved in racing in any capacity?
WILSON: “I love what we do, I love racing, I love all forms of racing, and I’ll continue to be a fan. I’ll come back to the track on occasion, probably far less than you would expect. Because the reason more often than not that I’ll come back is for the people. It’s not for a “race.” I’ve been to enough races and enough race tracks, but it’s the people that I’ll come back to visit with and to see. In the immediate future, just to be clear, I have 128 days in office left. I don’t do lame duck well and the irony is of those 128 days I’m on the road for 70.”
Have you stopped long enough to give a thought about what it’s going to be like to start 2025 and not have to worry about the Rolex 24 and Daytona 500?
WILSON: “Tyler (Gibbs) and I talk about this a lot and I’m sure for many of you in this room, you go through the same emotional hurdle. You have to cross a hurdle. When you get up on New Years Day or the day after, you have to be prepared to strap it back on and get after it. Usually, we’re on the road by the third or fourth day of January heading somewhere. What I’ve come to find more and more difficult is getting myself mentally prepared for that. And now, again leaving my two grandsons – my four-year-old, we’re tight. He’s my buddy and he gets upset when I leave and that’s hard. It gets harder. Thank goodness for technology. But, come the first of next year, it’s going to be surreal. I don’t know. I don’t know how I’ll handle it. My wife is a little terrified. Had a test run with COVID. There was a little silver lining there and I found out that not getting on an airplane for like two months or whatever it was, I didn’t miss any of that. And I loved being home with my family. I really did. It doesn’t mean that there won’t be moments like I need to get on an airplane and get out of here, but I’ll figure it out. I’m comfortable.”
Have you been able to figure out what caused the recent engine issues and have you solved the issue?
GIBBS: “Yes, we’ve dug into each one of those individually. They are different issues. We know what caused them so from that perspective we are comfortable – as comfortable as you can be with some of the components involved with solving those problems.”
WILSON: “Let me just touch on that because many of you who were here 10, 11, 12 years ago, you probably got to know me through the crap storm that we were in the middle of. That’s when I was put out in front of the media for the first time. I’ll never forget we were at Phoenix and Kyle Busch’s engine failed in warm up on Sunday morning. Bob Carter is watching from his couch and freaking out. So, that’s how I came to get to know you all and one of my biggest takeaways and Tyler (Gibbs) has seen it as well is never run from your problems and get out in front of it and just be honest. I had to share some real tough things with you all and I’m so grateful for the respect and the trust that all of you on this side of the industry has shown me over the years. We’ll get that stuff sorted and thank you.”
David, are there any others that have had a profound impact on your career?
“Well, everyone in this room on some level has had an impact because the common denominator for the most part is I’ve been given a level of trust in time. There’s not too many jobs where you have that, but just to focus more at home and the parent company, Toyota Motor North America, who enable us to do this and who decided that we should race in this sport. They have – our top management have given my team the latitude and the freedom to build what we’ve done in this sport and that’s such a luxury. And it comes because they have a trust, because you have a track record and that’s been amazing. But the people that I’ve worked with over the years, Bob Carter, that retired not too long ago. Ed Laukes, my last boss who retired a couple of years ago. Both played a significant role in me and my team having the success that we have. But, again, looking more at this team here and looking at the things that bring me so much pride, but it’s helping be a part of bringing new organizations into our sport. What we did with Furniture Row Racing back in the day – just off the charts. Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan putting their trust in Toyota to make a big bet in the sport. It’s breathtaking. Having Jimmie Johnson cold call you and say, ‘Hey, I want to come out to California and have dinner with you.’ To be working with him, it’s hard to put in words but certainly all of those people have played a tremendous amount of influence, and I care so much for each of them.”
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