Joe Gibbs Racing announced late Friday night that J.D. Gibbs had died from a “degenerative neurological disease.” He was 49.

Gibbs, the son of team namesake Joe Gibbs, was the co-founder of JGR. He held management roles with the team throughout its existence. The team said in 2015 that Gibbs was having brain issues but had not figured out their cause.

In addition to serving in an executive capacity with the team, Gibbs had a brief driving career as well. He competed in 13 Xfinity and Truck Series races from 1997-2002.

Joe Gibbs is the Super Bowl-winning coach of the Washington Redskins. Joe Gibbs Racing first ran in 1992 with Dale Jarrett behind the wheel. Jarrett got the team’s first victory in the 1993 Daytona 500 and JGR drivers have won 156 Cup Series races and four championships since. Bobby Labonte won the Cup Series title in 2000, Tony Stewart took it in 2002 and 2005 and Kyle Busch won it in 2015. JGR has been even more dominant in the Xfinity Series. Its drivers have won 152 races over the past 22 seasons.

The team currently fields cars for Busch, Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones and Martin Truex Jr. in the Cup Series.

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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.

Follow @NickBromberg on Twitter

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