NASCAR team Owner JOE GIBBS yesterday, speaking publicly for the first time about his son and team President J.D.'s recently announced, brain-function issues, "thanked the NASCAR community for its support and asked for continued prayers," according to Jim Utter of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. Gibbs, speaking before the STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway, said, "Basically what the doctors say to you is that they just really don’t know. ... We can’t point to any one serious thing that happened to him." Joe Gibbs said J.D.’s symptoms "have been present for about six months and his presence at the race track will be cut back." Joe Gibbs added J.D. "has a full week that demands quite a bit from him as he goes through treatment. He’ll be (at JGR) on a day-to-day basis with the race team and be in all of our meetings and all of the key decisions that we make" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 3/30). Joe Gibbs: "The good thing is that J.D. and I share the same responsibilities. If I'm not there for a particular reason, J.D. will be there. If he's not there for a particular reason, I'll be there" (USA TODAY, 3/30). In Ft. Worth, Drew Davison noted Joe Gibbs "used words such as 'courageous' and 'hero' when addressing" J.D.’s issues (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 3/30).
