Gibson having fun on and off track at Stewart-Haas

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Florida native Tony Gibson grew up near Daytona International Speedway in a family securely grounded in racing and the outdoors. As the crew chief of Stewart-Haas Racing's No. 39 Chevrolet of Ryan Newman, he revels in both.

Gibson sat down before the Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway to talk about his race teams, his shared love of the outdoors and how having a teenage daughter is a mutually educational experience.

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Q: You've been a crew chief before, but this seems to be going so smoothly, is it the most fun, the most comfortable you've been in the role?

Gibson: It's the most fun I've had, but it's a little more stressful, right now, because the Chase is so tight. You want to make the Chase, for the team, the guys, the driver and yourself -- for the whole organization more than anything. So it's the most fun I've had, by far.

Q: What makes it that much fun?

Gibson: I just think it's because the drivers, [Tony] Stewart and Newman are so much fun to be around. They keep everybody pumped up and excited, and when you have a bad day they're there to keep you pumped up and say. 'It's OK, we're going to have better days.'

That kind of cheers you up. And the guys that work at the shop -- we've got two great race teams that work really good together, they support each other and they get along. So all that combined makes it fun and makes you want to go to work every day.

Q: You've never been involved with drivers who share your love of the outdoors, have you?

Gibson: No, and it's really cool; a lot of fun. Dale [Earnhardt] Jr. liked to hunt a little bit, but he's not a big, avid hunter like Stewart and Newman are. Stewart and Newman, they just love the outdoors, both of them have deer farms; they raise deer. Stuff like that is right up my alley.

Other drivers that I've had have had interest in it, but nothing [compared] to the magnitude of these guys. They just eat it up and eat, sleep and breathe it; like I do. That part of it makes it a lot of fun to be around those guys.

Q: As busy as you guys all are, individually and together, have you had a chance to enjoy any of that?

Gibson: I've been to Newman's farm a couple times, up there [in North Carolina] off I-77. We fed the little deer, got to see the place and went fishing in his pond. And we're getting ready to go to Stewart's. I've seen pictures, but he's actually going to take us up there and let us run around his farm a little bit and do some doe hunting.

But me and Newman have been fishing quite a bit. We've been turkey hunting together, down in Atlanta a couple times earlier in the season, so that was fun. We didn't kill anything because it was such a rush deal. (Continued)