The president of Joe Gibbs Racing--the winningest team in NASCAR history--shares the secrets of succeeding in business and in life.
In NASCAR, as in life, the difference between winning and losing often comes down to being in the right place at the right time and making the most of every opportunity.

Nobody understands that better than Dave Alpern. Dave started his career as an unpaid intern selling T-shirts for the newly formed Joe Gibbs Racing team. Nearly three decades later, he's now the president of JGR, a multimillion-dollar elite, record-setting racing team with more than 500 employees. In Taking the Lead, Dave shares the wisdom he's learned along the way: key principles that will equip you with what you need to rise to the top and succeed with integrity and purpose--whatever team you're on.
About the Author: Dave Alpern began his career with Joe Gibbs Racing in 1993 as an unpaid intern. Since then he has held nearly every position in the front office, including overseeing consumer products, communications, and sponsorships before being named team president.
As one of the longest-tenured executives in the sport, Alpern has seen the team grow from 18 employees to nearly 600 and has worked with C-level executives for many of the world's top brands, such as Toyota, FedEx, Mars, Stanley, the Coca-Cola Company, and Comcast. Dave had been invited to the White House on multiple occasions after winning NASCAR championships in 2000, 2002, 2005, 2015, and 2019.
Born in Frankfurt, Germany, as the son of a high-ranking CIA official, he returned to the States at age two and grew up just outside the nation's capital in Northern Virginia. He attended Oakton High School (along with childhood friend J. D. Gibbs, the son of Hall of Fame Washington Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs) and earned a degree in communications from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. His plans to pursue an MBA were put on hold in 1993 when he was offered an internship with Coach Gibbs, which led to a move to Charlotte, North Carolina, and a one-company career that is now in its third decade.
Alpern is a regular university guest lecturer, particularly at the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School for both their undergraduate and graduate business programs. He teaches on marketing, sponsorship, and social media, and also enjoys corporate speaking.
Dave is married to his college sweetheart, Stacey, and they have three sons: twins who recently graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an audio engineering student at Belmont University in Nashville. His interests include snow skiing, snowboarding, surfing, and playing an occasional round of golf. He is also an avid fan of the Washington Redskins, the Washington Capitals, and the Carolina Tar Heels.

David Thomas is a sportswriter and author of numerous books including, I Still Believe, Impact Player, All In, and Remember Why You Play. A lifelong Texan and graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington, he lives near Dallas, Texas, with his wife and their two children.

One of the most successful coaches of all time, Joe Gibbs coached the Washington Redskins for 12 seasons, leading them to eight playoff appearances, four NFC Championship titles, and three Super Bowl titles. In 1996, Joe was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, with an overall winning percentage of .638 - second only to the legendary Vince Lombardi and John Madden. After retiring at the end of the 1992 season, Joe switched his focus to his NASCAR team, Joe Gibbs Racing, which has already won three championships under his ownership ('00, '02 & '05), and is currently poised to claim a fourth in 2008.

A deeply committed Christian, Joe has made no secret of his faith, speaking at numerous prayer breakfasts, advertising Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ on the hood of one of his race cars at the Daytona 500, and most recently, dedicating his time and resources to building a special ministry through Joe Gibbs racing called The Game Plan for Life, which focuses on "winning souls for Christ and discipling believers toward living more full and relevant God-centered lives." Gibbs currently resides in North Carolina with his wife, Pat. They have two sons, J. D. Gibbs and Coy Gibbs and eight grandchildren. J.D. and his wife, Melissa, have four sons: Jackson, Miller, Jason and Taylor. Coy Gibbs and wife Heather have sons Ty, Case and Jett along with daughter Elle.