“Jesus was hated first”: When Ty Gibbs stood by his action after getting booed for wrecking his JGR teammate for the win

During the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs race at Martinsville, Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Ty Gibbs and Brandon Jones made contact near the finish line. The resultant contact ended the latter's race for good. While Gibbs was predominantly at fault, he stood by his actions to such an extent that he compared himself to Jesus.

During the 2022 Dead On Tools 250 at Martinsville Speedway, Gibbs claimed a controversial victory after he wrecked his then-Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Jones. Gibbs knocked Jones out of the way as the drivers raced to the Checkered Flag in the final lap of the crucial playoff race.

As Gibbs crossed the finish line, grabbed a victory, and qualified for Championship 4, he ended Jones' hopes of making it to the Championship 4. The #19 JGR driver needed to win the race to qualify for the next event, but his race was undone by his teammate.

Ty Gibbs faced massive criticism after his Martinsville action. His teammate, other drivers, experts, and fans, everyone joined together to call out the #54 JGR driver. However, Gibbs stood by his actions. So much so that he compared himself to Jesus amid massive criticism.

"I always go back to the same verse that Jesus was hated first and among all the people, so that’s a part of it, I feel like, just, you know, silencing out the crowd. I feel like that’s what you have to do as a professional athlete."

"I feel like some of the best people are going to get booed, and that’s part of life. You can’t let other people’s opinions and thoughts drive your actions and make you feel bad or anything. It’s part of life," Gibbs said as per NASCAR.com.

Besides Jones, who was directly affected by the wreck, fellow NASCAR drivers Noah Gragson, Erik Jones, and Clint Bowyer also called the #54 JGR driver out on social media.

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Ty Gibbs' reaction after wrecking Brandon Jones

Ty Gibbs shared his reaction after he wrecked his then-teammate Brandon Jones and ruined his race. As he crossed the Checkered Flag, and entered the Championship 4, he admitted that it was "definitely not" a clean move, but he needed to win the race.

"It was definitely not a clean move, for sure,” Gibbs said. “I definitely didn’t want to wreck him, but I definitely wanted to move him out of the groove so I could go win. I felt like we lost the spring race getting moved by him."

Brandon Jones was eliminated from the round of eight after the wreck, while Ty Gibbs advanced. In the season-ending race at Phoenix Raceway in Phoenix, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver clinched the victory and thus, claimed the championship.

Ty Gibbs, driver of the #54 Monster Energy Toyota, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Dead On Tools 250 - Source: Getty Images

He finished the season ahead of Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, and Landon Cassill. Gibbs moved to the Cup Series in 2023 under full-time obligation and raced for his grandfather's team, Joe Gibbs Racing.