February 24, 2022 | By Lee Spencer

Ty Gibbs can showcase elite talent in full-time Xfinity ride

While most Xfinity Series racers were already home on Sunday, Ty Gibbs was holding court outside the Joe Gibbs Racing Cup haulers at Daytona International Speedway. 

Clad in a Monster Energy hat and generic Toyota Racing sport shirt, the 19-year-old grandson of Coach Joe Gibbs belied his age but not his breeding. Gibbs could meet-and-greet with the best in the garage, his gregarious nature mirroring that of his grandfather, team owner a three-time Super Bowl winning football coach Joe Gibbs.

Just days after JGR announced Gibbs would pilot the No. 54 Toyota GR Supra full-time in 2022—and hours after he finished 11th in the NASCAR Xfinity Series season opener—the 19-year-old is embracing his role. 

“I’m excited,” Gibbs said. “I’m sure everybody was expecting it, but it’s cool to finally be announced—and to not have rookie stripes is a good feeling, too.”

Gibbs jokes that the ARCA Menards Series classified him as a rookie for the last three seasons and that he won rookie honors three times, a facetious claim. In all seriousness, 2021 was his first full season on the developmental tour and he won 10 of the 20 races en route to the title.

In 2022, there will be no yellow stripes on the rear of Gibbs’ Supra. Despite running just 18 of 33 Xfinity races in 2021, Gibbs won in his first career start at the Daytona Road Course. He then backed up his accomplishment by scoring three additional victories. With a winning percentage of 22.2 and an average finish of 10th, the second-generation racer was a shoo-in for Rookie-of-the-Year, despite the limited schedule.

The transition from ARCA to Xfinity appeared seamless for Gibbs, even though the team was getting the driver acclimated to the tour and not contending for a title. What does Gibbs feel his greatest challenge will be this season?

“Just more points racing,” he says without hesitating. “Last year I got do points racing. So getting more used to it, I think it's going to be the biggest deal for me. Just kind of making smart decisions that is probably a little bit more conservative and being as aggressive.” 

Veteran crew chief Chris Gayle guided Gibbs to his four wins last season and will continue to call the shots for the No. 54 team this year. With the exception of the transporter driver, Gayle kept the crew intact. Throughout the course of Gayle’s tenure on the pit box, he has called the shots for Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Bobby Labonte, Martin Truex Jr., Christopher Bell and John Hunter Nemechek—and he has won 30 races in 166 starts. 

Other than Busch, Gibbs is the only multi-time winner on Gayle's scorecard. What distinguishes Gibbs from other drivers Gayle has worked with?

“I think really it is two things,” Gayle said. “So like at such a young age, right, he's fearless, number one. I have seen him, and he doesn't mind literally hurting himself, whether it was motocross or anything he's been involved with. He was completely fearless. He's not afraid of failing like he's going to go out and try really hard no matter what.

“Number two, the work ethic that he has. From the outside in, I didn't know Ty really well before last year, you know? And not to sound bad, or not to give it enough credit, but the ARCA thing to me doesn't necessarily tell you exactly what you have just yet. There’s enough of a disparity in between those cars and stuff that you just don't really know. You don't have to race enough people. 

“But as soon as we got him over here and started running some Xfinity races, I really realized how the moment's not too big for him.”

Gibbs proved that by winning an Xfinity Series race the first time he competed in the car. The driver went on to win a second road course race (Watkins Glen), on two intermediate tracks (Charlotte and Kansas) and scored second-place finishes at the one-mile Phoenix Raceway and the 2.5-mile Tricky Triangle at Pocono. 

Gayle calling Gibbs a student of the sport is far from lip service.

“The time he invests away from the track, to be honest with you, I don't see it with as quite as many others,” Gayle said. “Like Kyle Busch, I'm not going to get a whole lot of time around him outside of the weekend, but I get more time around Ty, and he's in and out of the shop all the time, so I know when he's on the simulator when he's running iRacing at home when he logs on and looks at SMT data. 

“I just know those kinds of things, so I know that his desire to do this is relentless from that standpoint. Like he wants all the information. This is all he wants to do and he's not afraid to fail trying to do it right.”

Gibbs has been exposed to racing all his life. In addition to watching his father, Coy, and uncle J.D. race, he’s been able to absorb the best practices of Cup champions such as Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. under the JGR roof. Gibbs studies other racing disciplines as well. He’s an avid Formula 1 fan.

With all of the opportunities afforded Gibbs, he could have gone in a variety of directions but motorsports have always been his passion. 

“In my opinion, he chose the hardest path,” Gayle said. “There's always going to be criticism that he's a silver-spoon child, he's got all the advantages in this, everything's going to work out. He chose that path, knowing lots of criticism was going to come his way, potentially because of who he is. And he's still doing well in spite of that and wants to do really well and wants to take this on because he's a racer. 

“It’s what he wants to do. This is the most important thing to him, and I think that's the thing that probably he doesn't get enough credit for.” 

Given the unpredictability of the winner-take-all season finale, winning the title seems like a lofty goal. But qualifying for the Championship 4 round is well within Gayle’s expectations for the team and his young driver.

For Gibbs, acquiring as much seat time as possible tops his list.

“I hope we can win a championship,” Gibbs said. “I hope we can win a bunch of races. More than anything, I’m so excited just to race in the Xfinity series. I just enjoy the car so much. It's so much fun for me every time. I just want to get more and more of racing the car. I really enjoy it that much to where after I’m done racing, the day after, I want to go back out and do it again. I have that feeling in my stomach. I love it.”