SPEEDWAY, Ind.—Over the last year, Ty Gibbs has evolved from petulant teenager to NASCAR Cup Playoff contender.
The road hasn’t been easy. After the extreme high of winning the Xfinity Series championship in November, he awoke to the news that his father and mentor Coy Gibbs had died.
Gibbs, who graduated to a full-time ride in the Cup Series for 2023, put his head down and went to work.
“The difference between Xfinity and Cup, it’s a lot different,” Gibbs said. “When you’re Xfinity, you’re fighting for your life to get to the top step and then once you’re the top step, it’s a whole different deal. So I really enjoy the Cup series. I enjoy racing these guys and I enjoy getting better every week.
“It just takes a little bit of time (to improve in Cup), but I would love to shorten that time barrier up.”
Gibbs was elevated to the Cup Series prematurely last year when Kurt Busch was injured at Pocono during qualifying on July 23. In 15 starts with 23XI Racing, Gibbs scored one top 10 at Michigan. At 18, the second-generation racer received a crash course in Cup after coming off the bench.
But the immersion prepared him for his rookie season with the family team—Joe Gibbs Racing—in Cup. And now, having the opportunity to return to tracks where he raced last year, the experience is paying off. Gibbs scored his first top-five result at Pocono two races ago behind the wheel of the No. 54 Toyota.
In 23 starts, he has posted one top five, six top 10s and with his 11th-place result last weekend at Michigan, Gibbs broke into the top 16 in the standings.
“We definitely have had OK runs the last couple of weeks and doing better,” Gibbs said. “But we’re in (the top 16) and I feel like we hopefully have a great weekend this weekend. We can even gain more points. But a win would lock it all up and take care of it. That would be really nice.”
Gibbs entered the weekend in double-duty mode—running both the NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series races on the 2.439-mile road course. He successfully completed his first task by winning Saturday’s Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard by nearly an eight-second margin over second-place Sam Mayer.
His preparation started early in the simulator for this weekend’s events—and the two-day test Goodyear has planned for this Monday and Tuesday to prepare for the likely return to the oval.
“We got back Monday night (from Michigan) and was in the SIM Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and then left Friday morning at 7,” said Gibbs, who thinks it will be cool to race on the 2.5-mile oval again. “I think it it’s a really historic race track and I think it’s probably one of honestly the one of the oldest ever right race tracks. I think they started like in 1909.
“It’s really, really cool and really special to be able to take a laps on it. JGR has had a lot of success here as well. So it’s a special place for us.”
In addition to running a partial schedule last season, Gibbs has the benefit of continuing to work with crew chief Chris Gayle, who guided him to the 2022 Xfinity Series title. During last weekend’s rain delay at Michigan, Gayle impressed upon the young driver the importance of racing for points due to their position in the standings. The advice paid off.
“It definitely puts it in bigger perspective that, ‘Hey, like we gotta look at the bigger picture here. We’re already three to the good and we’re only a quarter away in the race, so let’s just have a good rest of the race and not be dumb.’ That’s really what he did.
“I need to do my best job every week and if I do that, then (the points are going to) take care of itself.”
Along with the pressure that Gibbs puts on himself to perform, there’s also the responsibility of carrying on the family legacy—started by his grandfather, Super Bowl champion coach Joe Gibbs. With the loss of his father Coy and uncle J.D., he relies on his family.
“Most of our conversations are private,” Gibbs said of his relationship with his NFL /NASCAR Hall of Fame grandfather. “I feel like we’re all in it together. I have a great family, great backing, and a great foundation from my family. I have a great time with them.
“I got a lot going on in my family, and it’s a fun time to be around all these guys got one playing football. My sisters, you know, going to college and there’s just. It’s just chaos, so it’s pretty cool. I got to step my game up.”
Gibbs isn’t going to lie about the exponential jump in commitment and performance that it takes to be successful at the Cup level. But coming from a family steeped in a sports environment, Gibbs has the perfect support system to excel.
“I think it’s way bigger than people could think,” Gibbs said. “And I think it’s bigger than it’s ever been because the car is completely different and it’s worth so much for track position too as well. So, it’s really hard. It’s really, it’s really hard. You only have 10 minutes of practice or 20 minutes of practice every week. So it’s really hard. You get one lap in qualifying, which before I think you get like 4 practices a weekend, right? Two practices before qualifying, as many tires as you want.
“Now, it’s so different. I think it’s really hard.”
Not too hard, however, for a Playoff berth in his rookie season to be a realistic possibility.
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
