Ty Gibbs sends bold message after season-best showing in Darlington

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Ty Gibbs finally got his breakthrough this season at the NASCAR Throwback Weekend at Darlington Raceway on April 6, 2025. The latter parked his car among the top ten drivers for the first time this year, and during a post-race interview, he dropped a bold statement for the upcoming races.

The first seven starts of the 2025 season could be defined as disappointing for Gibbs. He began the season with a P16 finish at the Daytona International Speedway, followed by a P32 finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Since then, he has failed to even enter the top 20 drivers on the grid. However, at Martinsville Speedway, the 22-year-old's performance improved, and he finished in P13 at the 0.526-mile track.

Following the improvement, Ty Gibbs showed promising form at Darlington Raceway. He qualified 11th for the race with a best time of 28.98 seconds and a top speed of 169.72 mph. He secured his first top-ten finish of this season and secured ninth place on the grid. Reflecting on his performance at the 1.366-mile track, the reporter asked,

"I know that this year hasn't started the way that you wanted to, but how good is a top 10 feel after year one today?" [00:00 onwards]

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver gave him a bold reply (via Frontstretch media on X):

"Yeah, it’s nice for sure. I know we’ll get more of those, but it was a good improvement,” he said. “I’m not too worried; I feel like we’ll be okay. Just get reps and figure it out. Excited for what the future holds, and we’ll be pretty good.”

After his ninth-place finish at Darlington, Ty Gibbs moved up eight spots on the Cup Series driver's points table. Gibbs ranks 26th with 131 points, one top-ten finish, and an average start of 21.5, followed by an average finish of 22 in eight races so far.

---

"I feel like I just got really squeezed there": Ty Gibbs expressed his true feelings about his Atlanta Motor Speedway race

In February 2025, during the Ambetter Health 400 held at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Ty Gibbs got involved in a multi-car wreck. The accident happened on lap 184 of the race and included Daniel Suarez, Noah Gragson, JJ Yeley, and several other drivers.

Gibbs claimed that Suarez slowed down and triggered the crash. Later, during a post-race interview with NASCAR journalist Bob Pockrass, he stated:

"I don't know. I feel like I just got really squeezed there. I feel like I was in position and to run through wide and then make some positions back that I lost, and I don't know, I haven't really see a replay, but I feel like I got squeezed there." (0:08 onwards)

"I cut a tire there at the end and then that was it. Got a little trip in on the back of the on the back of the vehicle thing and got rattled for the whole time and came in and they told me I was done, so I was like 'okay'," he added.

Ty Gibbs made his Cup Series debut in 2022 with 23XI Racing. After competing for one part-time season with the team, he moved to Joe Gibbs Racing and secured a full-time seat in the series in 2023. Since then, he has been with the team and has secured a total of 24 top-ten and two pole positions in 94 starts.