Darlington, S.C. — It didn’t take long for word to spread through the Darlington NASCAR garage that car owners Bill Davis and Joe Gibbs had a small conversation Saturday afternoon regarding the driving services of Scott Wimmer, which opened a third chapter in the history between the two Winston Cup owners
The discussion, described as “heated” by witnesses had Davis, owner of cars No.s 22 and 23, reminding Gibbs, car owner of cars No.s 18 and 20, that Wimmer was signed by Davis to a one-year deal earlier in the week and that the driver was off the 2003 Silly Season menu.
Previous seasons have seen Jeff Gordon leave Davis, after driving a Ford no less, when Rick Hendrick procured the driver. Additionally, Davis lost Bobby Labonte to Gibbs several years later when Davis lost sponsorship from Maxwell House Coffee. That deal, however, was negotiated between the two owners.
Completing the hat trick was Davis’ loosing sponsorship from MBNA to Gibbs several years after Labonte moved to Gibbs’ team. Asked if the Wimmer situation reminiscent of either the MBNA or Labonte deal and Davis only answered, “not really.”
Gibbs, who admitted the discussion to Davis, says that he talked to Wimmer believing the driver to be a free agent, but hopes this can be handled in a gentlemanly manner between the two owners. Davis acknowledged the conversation with Gibbs adding Gibbs’ approach to Wimmer had him upset.
“There were five or six Busch Grand National team owners [who] called me and asked me if they could talk to Scott Wimmer, out of respect,” said Davis. “That’s the way you do business. And I said, ‘No. We’re gonna stick with it. We’re gonna run Busch again and we’re gonna run him.’ They [Joe Gibbs Racing] chose not to do it that way and went behind everybody’s back. They tried to recruit him. I didn’t like that.”
Gibbs, explaining his side of the story said, “Steve de Souza, who runs our Busch teams and we’re gonna have several Busch teams next year, on the way out of the race track two weeks ago or about a week-and-a-half ago said to Scott, ‘Hey, Scott, what’s your situation next year.’ Scott said, ‘Hey, I don’t have a situation next year. Bill has let my contract run out. I don’t have anything for next year and I’m really concerned.’
“So at that point, when Steve told me that, I said, ‘Hey, let us see the contract to make sure that’s the case.’ [Wimmer] sent me the contract. The contract expired a couple months ago. So he didn’t have a contract. He was right.”
Gibbs added, “He was a free agent. He had no contract and that’s what he was telling us. Scott was telling us. ‘Hey I’m a free agent. I don’t have anything for next year. I’m concerned.’ At that point we started talking to him. I think Bill at that point found out about it, jumped on a deal and got him re-signed. He re-signed him two days ago, which is fine with us.
“So we didn’t think we had done anything wrong or unethical. [Bill] said something to me about it. I started to discuss it with him and I was trying to keep it between me and him.
“We’re gonna try to sit down with him next week, if he wants to and discuss it.”
Making the situation somewhat tricky for Davis is word that Wimmer was out shopping himself to several others during the past several weeks. TFR actually spoke to one entity who had spoken with Wimmer directly without a call to Davis.
Confusing the situation is Rockwell Automation’s interest in teaming with Wimmer for 2003 and beyond. That sponsor currently sponsors one of Richard Childress BGN rides. Gibbs declined to discuss the Rockwell tie-in.
Davis was not available for comment prior to the start of the Southern 500, and it is unknown if a meeting between Gibbs and Davis is scheduled this week.
