"I don't think nothing was off" - Ty Gibbs reacts to grandfather's JGR shuffle, admits 'hitting a plateau' with Chris Gayle

Ty Gibbs recently spoke about the changes at Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) after Chris Gayle, his former crew chief, was moved to Denny Hamlin's No. 11 team on Friday. JGR also announced that Hamlin's crew chief, Chris Gabehart, would be promoted to Competition Director and oversee all four teams.

Gibbs is without a crew chief for now but the team plans to complete the No. 54 team soon. During a recent media interaction with Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass, Gibbs spoke about the shift and admitted he felt like he "hit a plateau" working with Gayle.

"We hit a plateau for sure, but I don't think nothing was off. I think that we still have a great relationship, and we've worked really hard this year, and I know they've worked extremely hard," Gibbs said.

Gibbs' second season in the Cup Series ended with a 15th-place finish in the final standings, with 12 top-10 and 8 top-five finishes. He also won two pole positions this year at the Coca-Cola 600 and Pocono.

The 22-year-old acknowledged that the team had put in a lot of effort but also noted that changes are a natural part of the process.

"I think stuff changes. I think my grandfather won three Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks, so I think stuff changes, and it's healthy. I think that it will work its way when Gabehart is going to go do this deal, so I'm hopefully excited for the future, and hopefully we run really great next year in one of our races," Gibbs added.

The 2024 season was tough for JGR. None of their drivers made it to the Championship 4 and the team went without a win in their last 18 races.

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"Ultimately make our team stronger" - Ty Gibbs' grandfather on recent changes at JGR

Ty Gibbs' former chief Chris Gayle led JGR’s Xfinity team to 10 wins with four drivers in 2021. JGR team owner Joe Gibbs said that moving Chris Gabehart to a new role and bringing Gayle to the No. 11 team will make them stronger for the next season.

Gibbs said in a statement (via Speedway Digest):

"While we are still in the process of finalizing the new crew chief for the 54 team, we believe all these moves ultimately make our team stronger as we prepare for 2025."

Ty Gibbs won the Xfinity championship in 2022 with Gayle as his crew chief and they moved to the Cup Series in 2023. The team made it to the playoffs for the first time this year but was eliminated after the Round of 16.