Brian Scott could be headed to Gibbs

Brian Scott, the driver released by Braun Racing on Monday despite leading the Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year standings, might not be idle for long.

Joe Gibbs Racing President J.D. Gibbs said at Dover International Speedway on Sunday that Scott would fit nicely in his organization's Nationwide Series program.

“I have a lot of respect for Brian,” Gibbs said. “I met him several years ago and have followed him since he’s been in the sport. I think he’s gifted. We’re just going to go to work and see if something works out.

“We would love to have someone that could run for the full driver’s championship. Right now we can run (for) the owners championship but we can’t run the full drivers (title). I’d love to have someone that could run for the full driver’s championship and he’d be a good fit for that.”

Scott, a 22-year-old Boise, Idaho, native posted three top-five’s and five top-10 finishes driving the No. 11 Braun Racing Toyota. Gibbs said if Scott showed progress, JGR could consider running him in a few Cup races in the future.

‘Yeah, that would be the hope,” Gibbs added. “To me, get the young guys in there. We have some great young guys now with (Brad) Coleman and (Matt) DiBenedetto in there, but the problem is when you run six or seven races a year, it’s hard to build momentum. If we could have someone do the full thing, that would be exciting for us.”

Gibbs won the drivers and owners title last year with Kyle Busch, but that driver and teammate Denny Hamlin now run only a limited schedule in that series, sharing the ride with other drivers. JGR currently has the edge in the 2010 Nationwide owners standings again with a 134-point edge over series driver leader Brad Keselowski and his No. 22 Penske Racing team.

There has been talk for several years about adding a fourth car to the Cup program. A young driver such as Scott could afford JGR the opportunity to nurture a prospect slowly to make that next step.