One thing that a few NASCAR fans immediately pointed to after the videos of Joey Logano and Ty Gibbs’ heated conversation after the Clash surfaced was how similar that image, that context, and to an extent, that conversation was to another such instance involving Joey Logano. Only that time, Logano was in Gibbs’ place and he was Gibbs’ age and the driver on the other side was Ryan Newman. Karma? Poetry? Who knows?
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But this leads to an interesting question: Is Ty Gibbs a younger version of Joey Logano?
Because Logano certainly sees himself or his past self in the young Joe Gibbs Racing driver. “I’ve been through a lot of the stuff before where I was like him. I can see a lot of myself in Ty. I get a lot of it,” he said in a recent interview.
“When I was young, I was doing a lot of the same things. But I also learned my lesson and I completely understand it now, but we’re just not there yet. I want to work it out. I want it to be clear: I don’t want to be in a pissing match with his guy,” Logano explained.
“But I’m also not gonna get pushed around. I’m sure he’s saying the same things but he’s the one pushing back right now and eventually, you get bit back. That’s how our sport works. It’s self-policing. It’s eye for an eye. That’s how it works.”
“I see a lot of myself in Ty.”
More from @joeylogano earlier on “Behind The Wheel” today ⬇️
“I want to work it out. I’m being clear. I don’t wanna be in a pissing match with this guy. But I’m also not going to get pushed around.” pic.twitter.com/F79jdRGTGX
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) February 6, 2024
Clearly, as per Joey Logano, there’s a bit of him that he sees in the young Ty Gibbs. But now the question is, is Ty Gibbs on the same trajectory as Logano?
Ty Gibbs’ NASCAR career turning out like Joey Logano’s?
Joey Logano’s rise to the top of NASCAR is a story unlike any other. Not many drivers, at such a young age as he was, get the sort of reputation, notoriety, and more importantly, accolades as Logano did. Today, he is a 2x Cup champion. But once upon a time, he was very much like Ty Gibbs.
Gibbs, who only made his Cup debut last season, has also developed a reputation for himself when he was racing in the Xfinity Series. But just like Logano, Gibbs had the results to show for his antics and ways on the racetrack. He won the Xfinity title, got promoted to one of the top teams in the Cup, and almost made it to the playoffs in his rookie season.
Of course, Logano also started his Cup career with JGR. Logano was 19 in his first full-time season. Gibbs was 20. Logano had one win, 2 finishes inside the top 5, and 4 finishes inside the top 10 in his first full-time Cup season. Although he didn’t win a race in his rookie season, Gibbs had 4 finishes inside the top 5 and 6 finishes inside the top 10.
Karma? Poetic? Who knows?
