Joe Gibbs was never interested in allowing his Cup Series drivers to race outside of NASCAR. The risk of injury simply was not worth it from his perspective. But his approach had to evolve over the years with the influx of dirt racers like Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe. Now, in 2026, he has received a reminder of why his original stance may have been the right one all along.
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Ty Gibbs, his grandson, and the driver of the No. 54 Toyota Camry XSE, participated in the High Limit Racing Series season-opener at Las Vegas last weekend. He drove the 410 winged sprint car for CB Industries.
While battling for position with Corey Day, Ty made contact and climbed over the right-rear wheel of Day’s car and rolled several times at the exit of turn 2 before striking the catch fence and landing on the track. It was highly fortunate that he didn’t sustain any severe injury.
Ty was able to climb out of the car and walk away on his own two legs. However, the incident left a strong fear in his grandfather’s heart. He spoke about it to the press after the Cup Series race ended on Sunday.
Gibbs’ hope is that the team gets back to the times when the Cup Series was their only focus. He said, “It was Ty, Christopher, and it was Chase also. All of them had something to do with their stuff. I originally wasn’t in one spot when thinking about it. Changed my mind. I decided those guys, really, to be truthful, don’t have a lot else in the off-season. I made that decision, so.”
He added that he will always be concerned about them hurting themselves and foiling something much larger than their individual selves. Ty has spent a lot of time on dirt tracks since the offseason of 2024. He aims to follow in the paths of Kyle Larson and Bell, who have successfully carried dirt racing tricks into their Cup Series efforts.
The results haven’t gone that well for him anyway. Currently in his fourth full-time season with Joe Gibbs Racing, he has yet to record his maiden victory. Several strong performances have come his way in this time, but nothing boosts the confidence of a young driver like being in Victory Lane. He heads to Darlington this Sunday riding a streak of three top-5 finishes.
He will want to be more careful during dirt races in the future and not push the coach into restricting his participation in them.
