MARTINSVILLE, Va. - Joe Gibbs asked for continued prayers and said that son J.D. Gibbs has been dealing with symptoms impacting brain function for six months.
Joe Gibbs spoke publicly for the first time Sunday morning before the STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway. He took no questions.
Joe Gibbs Racing announced J.D. Gibbs’ condition Wednesday, stating that the team president’s symptoms include speech and processing issues.
“Basically what the doctors say to you is that they just really don’t know,’’ Joe Gibbs said Sunday of what caused the symptoms for J.D. Gibbs. “J.D. has lived a very active lifestyle. All the things he’s done in his life, physically he’s loved all sporting events and it’s everything from football to snowboarding to racing cars, racing motorbikes. We can’t point to any one serious thing that happened to him. Certainly an injury is a possibility that led us into some of the symptoms that he’s experiencing now.’’
Joe Gibbs said that J.D. Gibbs would not be going to the track as often because he’ll undergoing treatments during the week. Joe Gibbs said that J.D. Gibbs will continue to work in the office and be a part of the decision-making process. Joe Gibbs said that his other son, Coy, whose primary function is overseeing the team’s motocross operation, will become more involved in the NASCAR team.
This is the second time a health issue has impacted J.D. Gibbs’ family. His son Taylor was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in Jan. 2007 at age 2. Taylor was declared cancer-free in April 2010.
After thanking all the prayers, Gibbs ended his session with the media, saying: “This is a personal thing for us. We certainly will appreciate all the prayers going forward.’’