Back in April, Joe Gibbs recalled his late son’s mantra, saying, “Ty’s dad, Coy, his statement was always, anytime we got in a tough spot about his kids, he goes, ‘I raised my kids tough,’” a message meant to instill confidence in his grandson, Ty Gibbs. Judging by young Gibbs’ recent form, it seems the young driver has taken those words to heart.
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While he is still chasing his first win of the season, his performance in the in-season tournament has given both him and his grandfather a renewed sense of belief. Having now advanced to the final round of the tournament against Kaulig Racing’s Ty Dillon at Indianapolis Motor Speedway next Sunday, Ty Gibbs has earned high praise from his grandfather.
During the post-race media session, Joe Gibbs said, “I really appreciate everybody that’s on that team. There’s some people there that we got off to a terrible start. It was awful. I had people on that group that came to me encouraging me, ideas for me, after it.
“I think they care for Ty. This was a huge deal. We’ve added a lot to that team, as you guys know. When you see somebody go through some real tough stuff like that, and this sport will really measure you. But those guys have fought back.
“Our pit crew there, those guys did a great job today. They have been there through the first part of the year when nothing went right. There was nothing that went our way. So you appreciate those guys, just kept fighting.”
He continued, “I appreciate that. So for us to get to this point, we still got a long ways to go because we got to win to probably get in the Chase. It was a huge deal today. They fought their guts out at the end.”
Gibbs faced off against Tyler Reddick following strong runs for both drivers at Sonoma the previous weekend. And then at Dover on Sunday, in a tense battle that intensified over the final 10 laps, Ty Gibbs capitalized on late-race chaos to finish fifth, while Reddick settled for P12.
On the other side of the bracket, Ty Dillon narrowly defeated John Hunter Nemechek, edging him out by a single position to place P20.
Currently sitting 19th in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff standings, 52 points below the cutline, the No. 54 driver is eyeing far more than the $1 million prize. For Ty Gibbs, the focus is on capturing his career’s first Cup Series victory, and if he manages to do that at Indy, the in-season tournament spoils will follow. Coy Gibbs’ words now echo in Ty’s grit on track.
