Ty Gibbs has shown no signs of a “sophomore slump” in his NASCAR Cup career and in fact looks closer than ever to earning his first win, perhaps even this weekend at Charlotte.
Gibbs, the 21-year-old grandson of Joe Gibbs Racing owner Joe Gibbs, burst onto the NASCAR scene with great fanfare – winning in his Xfinity Series debut race in 2021 and following that up with seven wins and a championship in 2022.
His first full-time Cup season last year wasn’t quite as flashy, but still solid for a rookie. He finished 18th in the series standings behind four top-five and 10 top-10 finishes.
Heading into this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Gibbs and his No. 54 Toyota team are far ahead of where he was a year go and inching ever close to that inaugural series win.
Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing, Monster Energy Toyota Camry.
Photo by: Danny Hansen / NKP / Motorsport Images
“I think it’s just about more experience,” Gibbs said of his improvement from last season. “My team has more experience with this (new Toyota) and with me and how I like my car set-ups for this Next Gen car. I think they’ve done a great job and it’s slowly getting better.
“I think we definitely have been more in contention this year and then I feel like I’m definitely close to winning, for sure. That’s the biggest thing, is the experience.”
Gibbs’ crew chief, Chris Gayle, agrees.
“I think maybe Ty is a li