Ty Gibbs has probably got to be the driver with the worst luck in the Cup Series right now. Following a missed opportunity to secure victory in Michigan, he lost out on a potential win in Mexico City on Sunday too. The Joe Gibbs Racing youngster was arguably the second-best driver on track all race — but his work unraveled during the final restart.
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Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen handed the lead to Gibbs when he pitted under green in the final stage. But the No. 54 team kept Gibbs on track one lap too long and was trapped when a caution came out the following lap. He was forced to pit under caution and others, including van Gisbergen, gained track position because of this. Ultimately, van Gisbergen went on to win the race.
Gibbs, on the other hand, tried his best to regain the lead but was stuck battling for position inside the top 10. He finished his day in 11th place after suffering nose damage to his Toyota Camry XSE. Speaking to the press afterward, he accepted his fate and said, “Sometimes things don’t work for you, and you just have to keep digging.”
It doesn’t take a detective to see that Gibbs has been digging for a tad too long. He’s still awaiting his maiden Cup Series win in his third full-time season in the sport. Hopefully, it won’t come to a point where his seat is given to a different driver.
“It’s just unfortunate,” he added. “We’ll keep digging and take what we got. We had a fast race car and didn’t win, but sometimes, it just happens.”
Ty Gibbs on the unfortunate timing of the caution that cost him a chance to challenge SVG pic.twitter.com/YXzrVgsac3
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) June 15, 2025
In the end, van Gisbergen’s margin of victory was a comfortable 16.5 seconds. But Gibbs, who led 27 laps on Sunday, could have been up there had it not been for an unfortunate caution. He was hit with a similar circumstance during the earlier Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway.
Gibbs capitalized on the race’s cautions and took his car to race-winning speeds in the final stage. But before he could execute his winning move, his team informed him that he would run out of fuel unless he drove on 70-80% of the throttle. The inability to race aggressively ended up with him giving way to his teammate Denny Hamlin.
At the end of the day, Gibbs is proving that he has the skill and speed to be a victor. It’s only a matter of time before he gets there.
