The Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen saw Ty Gibbs nearly dominating for most of the race, with victory seeming imminent till the very end. However, with just two laps to go, everything went tumbling downhill for Gibbs after being rear-ended by JR Motorsports driver Sam Mayer. Following the race, Gibbs spoke to the media, where he seemed to go off on a different trajectory and kept stating that he has more wins than Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s driver.
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Gibbs even refused to elaborate on whether he spoke with Mayer after the race. Later on, in a separate interview, Mayer responded to the incident by apologizing for his mistake.
Ty Gibbs comments about Dale Earnhardt Jr’s driver after the Xfinity race
Talking about Sam Mayer, Gibbs mentioned, “I don’t really know how much of a conversation you can really have with him. And in that situation like I said, it’s we’ve been kind of grew up around racing each other.”
He added, “I think we have, he has more starts than I do and you know, this is his second win. So congratulations to him on the second win and definitely wish I got my 13th there.”
Mayer made contact with Gibbs out of turn one while braking. It was the last two laps of the race and following Mayer’s contact from the rear, Gibbs managed to spin out, effectively losing out on his shot to win the race.
Also on MRN, when asked about if they need to have a conversation about it, Ty says:
“I’m racing on Sundays. He has more starts and I have more wins.” https://t.co/MH9bhqEGGZ
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) August 19, 2023
Furthermore, journalist Matt Weaver revealed, “Also on MRN, when asked about if they need to have a conversation about it, Ty says: “I’m racing on Sundays. He has more starts and I have more wins.”
Sam Mayer apologizes to Ty Gibbs for the Watkins Glen incident
Meanwhile, in a separate interview, Dale Jr.’s driver mentioned, “My mindset is, I really didn’t have to do that and I didn’t want to do that. I just, I made a mistake, a mistake and we hopped into him and lost control pretty much. Just trying to get too much out of that corner and obviously, he got the short end of the stick.”
“So I do apologize to him. I guess if he ever hears this I do apologize. But it obviously ended up pretty good for us getting those bonus points getting a win for the organization is still a priority for us.”
💭 “If he ever hears this, I do apologize.”
🗣️ @sam_mayer_ discusses his late race incident with @TyGibbs en route to his @NASCAR_Xfinity win @WGI. pic.twitter.com/dfFqfUmkUK
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) August 20, 2023
Gibbs was obviously upset, and of course, why wouldn’t he? After having led the race in almost its entirety, the race win was just two laps away. In the end, it was good on Mayer’s part to admit his mistake and apologize for the same. All eyes are now on Gibbs to close out the issue from his end.
