Joe Gibbs Racing Team III

Why the #80? - The team likely used it to go with number that went with both 18 and 20 as it was a R&D team.

Why the #11? - The number 11 was chosen because that was car owner J.D. Gibbs number when he played as a quarterback for the College of William & Mary in Virginia. The number had recently been available when Brett Bodine Racing suspended operations in early 2004. When Federal Express signed on to become a sponsor, starting in 2005, there was only one number the team wanted to use. Especially since this team was owned by J.D. Gibbs in name. In a twist, 11 was used by driver Denny Hamlin when he was teenager since he was a Bill Elliott fan growing up. The number choice influenced the name of the team driver Denny Hamlin would use for his team with Michael Jordan, 23XI (twenty three-eleven) in 2021.