Joe Gibbs’ grandson to join Kyle Busch in making his midgets debut after JGR’s ban uplift

Following Joe Gibbs Racing's new policy on racing outside NASCAR, Ty Gibbs is set to debut in the USAC National Midget at the Ventura Raceway, competing against fellow NASCAR drivers Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson.

For the uninitiated, JGR used to ban its drivers from participating in other racing series, which affected drivers like Christopher Bell who is well-experienced on dirt. Now that the ban has been lifted, Gibbs is the first driver from the team to race an open-wheel car on dirt.

Ty Gibbs will drive the third car for Chad Boat Industries. He will run a practice session on Friday before going out to race on Saturday.

As mentioned earlier, Ty Gibbs will go up against veteran NASCAR drivers Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson. Busch drives the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports-owned midget car, while Larson competes for Silva Motorsports along with teammate Tyler Courtney.

Kyle Busch will spend most of his NASCAR off-season on dirt racing. After the Ventura Raceway stop, the 39-year-old driver will enter the Tulsa Shootout alongside his son, Brexton, in late December. He will also compete in the 39th Chili Bowl Nationals from January 13 to 18 next year.

Meanwhile, Kyle Larson will fly to Australia to join Kubota High Limit Racing at Perth Motorplex for sprint racing from December 28 to 30.

Ty Gibbs drives the No. 54 Toyota Camry in the NASCAR Cup Series - Source: Imagn

The Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura Raceway in California is happening on November 30, with the grandstands opening at 3:00 p.m. PT.

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Kyle Busch struggles to get in and out of midget car

For years, Kyle Busch refused to race midgets, citing he was too big for the car as one of the reasons. So during his first test runs ahead of his USAC National Midget debut, Busch had trouble getting out of the car, though the driver found it funny and posted the clip on social media.

In an X (formerly Twitter) post, Busch said:

"First time in the Midget, and my fat butt almost didn’t make it out."

The No. 8 Richard Childress Racing driver had to pull himself up on the nerf bars as his bottom was stuck in the seat. His team also assisted him by holding onto the seat to allow the driver to stand up.

For his debut midget race at Bakersfield Speedway, Kyle Busch qualified 18th out of 36 cars. However, his race had to end early following a battery connection issue that forced him to retire. Tanner Thorson took the victory, with Kyle Larson finishing 23rd.

Busch will return to the USAC Midget National stage for the Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura Raceway on November 30.

Kyle Busch drives the No. 8 Chevy in the premier series - Source: Imagn

The two-time NASCAR champion will be back in the Cup Series in February for the Daytona 500 season opener. The upcoming season will mark the first year the driver will compete without his streak of winning at least one race in a season (ended at 19 seasons) and playoff appearance streak (ended at 11).