Ty Gibbs hasn’t slowed down in his NASCAR Cup career. He might even get his first win soon, maybe this weekend in Charlotte.
Gibbs, who is 21 years old and the grandson of Joe Gibbs Racing owner Joe Gibbs, made a big entrance into NASCAR. He won his first Xfinity Series race in 2021 and then had seven wins and won the championship in 2022.
Last year was his first full-time season in the Cup, but it wasn’t as spectacular. He finished 18th in the standings with four top-five finishes and 10 top-10s.
Now, Gibbs is doing even better. He’s driving the No. 54 Toyota and is getting closer to his first Cup win.
“I think it’s just about more experience,” Gibbs said. “My team has more experience with this new Toyota and with me. I feel like I’m definitely close to winning.”
His crew chief, Chris Gayle, agrees. He thinks Gibbs is more relaxed now and has more confidence. “Every time we run second or third, he’s like, ‘OK, I belong here. I know I can do this.’ We just got to execute,” Gayle said.
In 13 races so far, Gibbs has matched his top-five finishes from last season and has seven top-10 finishes. He’s also led 235 laps, which is more than double from last season.
Going into Sunday’s race, Gibbs is seventh in the standings, just 96 points behind the leader, Kyle Larson. Even if he doesn’t win, he’s likely to make the playoffs. But, of course, winning is the main goal.
Before last weekend’s All-Star Race, Gayle said they evaluated how they were doing and were satisfied. “We were right on pace to some standards we set at the beginning of the season,” Gayle said.
But there are still some things they want to improve. “We haven’t got the win yet, right? And there’s still 12 more races to do that,” Gayle said. “Otherwise, I’d say it’s going to plan, so we’ll see.”
Asked if Charlotte was a good opportunity to win, Gibbs said, “I think our team is doing a great job. We are slowly getting better and I’m getting better, as well. We are going to give it our best shot.”
