Jason Dean Gibbs (February 21, 1969 – January 11, 2019) was an American professionalstock car racing driver and co-owner ofJoe Gibbs Racing. He also played college football at theCollege of William & Mary.

J. D. Gibbs was born on February 21, 1969, nearLos Angeles, California. At the time his father,Joe Gibbs, was the assistant coach at theUniversity of Southern California. His mother is the former Patricia Escobar. During Gibbs' childhood, he moved several times before settling inWashington, D.C. He attended and graduated fromOakton High School inVienna, Virginia.

Gibbs then attended theCollege of William & Mary inWilliamsburg, Virginia, where he was adefensive back andquarterback for theWilliam & Mary Tribe during the 1987 to 1990 seasons, while his father coached for theWashington Redskins. He helped the school team to twoDivision I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) playoff appearances; the team won ten games in his senior season.^[1]

In July 1991, after college, he became employed withJoe Gibbs Racing, a team his father started in July 1991. The team, with only six employees, started racing withDale Jarrett as the driver in1992.

In 1993, Gibbs was a tire changer on the team and was part of the1993 Daytona 500 winning team. In the mid-1990s, J. D. started racing in theNASCARCamping World East Series, as well as late-model events inNorth Carolina. Afterward, he started racing in theCraftsman Truck Series andBusch Series.

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.^[1]

Gibbs married his wife Melissa (née Miller), and they had four sons, Joe Jackson, William Miller, Jason Dean II, and Zachary Taylor.^[1] He was a major contributor and former member ofYoung Life, a non-denominational Christian organization for adolescents and he was honored with Young Life’s Posthumous Alumni Achievement Award.^[2][3] As a tribute to his legacy, in 2025,Joe Gibbs Racing partnered with Young Life to introduce the number 19 Young Life NASCAR Xfinity racecar, driven byAric Almirola.^[4]

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 inDavidson, North Carolina, on January 11, 2019.^[5]

A memorial service was held atDavidson College'sJohn M. Belk Arena on January 25, 2019, where he was eulogized by his wife Melissa, hisfather, his brotherCoy, and his best friends Dave Alpern and Moose Valliere.^[6]

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

• J. D. Gibbs driver statistics at Racing-Reference

• 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

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from July 2024