NASCAR’s ‘golden spoon’ makes his feelings known about “big hit” marking early exit from the Championship Race

NASCAR Cup Series driver Ty Gibbs delivered a career-high P3 finish at Phoenix Raceway back in March, but this time around, his hopes of making it through the 312 laps of madness ended soon after it had begun. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, whom Ricky Stenhouse Jr. called “golden spoon” as the former battled Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Dillon last week at Martinsville, found trouble on lap 3 of the coveted championship race.

As the field ran almost four wide, Gibbs’ No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry got loose and went straight into the outside wall coming off the corner on turn 4. Luckily, the Charlotte native was able to turn his car a little towards the left just before the hit to get more of a side impact.

Here is how it happened:

While recalling the incident in an interview with Frontstretch, Ty Gibbs said,

“That was a big hit for sure. I made contact with the wall... I felt I was okay...I lost all my rear grip and took off from there. “

Later, Gibbs was checked and released from the infield care center. When asked how he was feeling, the 2022 Xfinity Series champion said,

“I think I’m okay.”

The grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, Ty Gibbs started racing full-time in the Cup Series last year. That same year, he received the Rookie of the Year award. However, 2024 has been anything but a fruitful season for the 22-year-old race car driver.

In his last six starts, Gibbs finished worse than 30th on four occasions. Although he did finish fifth at Kansas, he could only deliver a P13 finish the following week at Talladega Superspeedway.

Gibbs got his team three top-5s and two top-10s in the first six races of the season, but the closest he has been to a top-10 over the last six events was his performance at Talladega. As of today, he sits 15th in the drivers’ standings with 2168 points to his name.

Ty Gibbs to take ownership of the No. 54 NASCAR team

It was announced in October that Ty Gibbs would own the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing team at the Xfinity level. The news came after the North Carolina-based outfit appointed Taylor Gray as the driver of the full-time ride.

Gibbs too confirmed the news through one of his Instagram stories. Although the story isn’t available anymore, journalist Joseph Srigley took a screenshot of the same and posted it on X (formerly known as Twitter).

“First year as 54 owner☝️First year as 54 driver ✅ Excited for @taylorgray17_,” Gibbs captioned his story.

Gibbs is one of the most talented drivers in NASCAR today. In 35 starts this season, he amassed two pole positions, eight top-5s and 12 top-10s. But he wants more.

“I don’t think I’m too happy about with how this year went,” said Gibbs in a recent interview (via Racer). “I wish it was better, but we are getting better and figuring it out. It’s really hard in Cup racing as you have to be really close…and I don’t think we’ve been close enough to really execute as well. We show up a little bit slower and then we take a long time to get faster, so we are getting better and the team is learning what I need.”

With his upcoming duties as a NASCAR driver and an owner, it looks like Ty Gibbs is all set to follow in the footsteps of four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and current Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, Jeff Gordon.