Initially at the start of 2025, the No.54 of Joe Gibbs Racing, Ty Gibbs, had a very stagnant season, continuing his longest skid from 2024, where he finished 30th or worse in the final five races. In 2025, he had a rough start with just one top 10 finish in the first seven starts. However, by the mid-season, Gibbs picked up momentum, finishing third at the Michigan International Speedway, replicating his Bristol results. He needed consistent results to have a breakthrough, and the 22-year-old has been hard at work with his consistent finishes.
Two top 5s and a 14th or better finish in the last five races. This includes the Mexico City race as well, where he was in command of a race until that Lap 65 caution. The field recycled, and Shane van Gisbergen ran away with the win. But last Sunday in Chicago, the driver of the #54 Toyota Camry was within touching distance. But, yet again, he wasn’t able to get clear of the Kiwi driver, who went on to add another win to his name. With seven races left in the season, Ty Gibbs hasn’t given up on his hopes to qualify for the playoffs, and the message was clear after the runner-up finish in Windy City.
Watch out for Ty Gibbs at Sonoma
“Yeah, you know, I felt like we had a fast Monster Energy, Camry, just need to have a little bit more um front turn. I felt like I wasn’t, you know, as um free enough to kind of get my points uh my exits right. So, but you know, here are things I can work on as well to make it better, but we had a great day overall and executed well. Just gonna be a little bit faster, and I think we could have gotten him,” Gibbs said in a post-race interview.
This was Ty Gibbs’ best finish in the NASCAR Cup Series, tied with last year’s Darlington result. But this is his third year, competing full time in the Cup Series, and he is hungry for his first win. The #88 Chevy was quick across the circuit and Ty just couldn’t find the balance he needed to contest for the lead. He had his shot with a late race restart, but Gibbs couldn’t fare up against SVG’s road racing mastery.
The good news for Ty Gibbs and the #54 team is that they will be able to have another go at road racing. With the NASCAR Cup Series headed to Wine Country, Gibbs will have the opportunity to settle the score against SVG, and he is pumped for the upcoming race. “Yeah, we’ll just go hammer down there and just go have a good time, hammer down and have fun. Go try to win it,” the JGR driver concluded.
CHARLOTTE, NC – MAY 28: Ty Gibbs 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Reser s Fine Foods Toyota talks to his car owner and grandfather Joe Gibbs after the running of the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 300 on May 28, 2022, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, NC.Photo by Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire AUTO: MAY 28 NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 300 Icon2205281308
Everyone from Joe Gibbs Racing, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and Chase Briscoe has won races this year and secured their spots in the playoffs. So the onus is now on the #54 group to get the job done, and JGR has put in all the resources they can to get Ty Gibbs across the finish line.
Chris Gabenhart’s role in paving the future for JGR
Serving as the crew chief for Denny Hamlin and the #11 team, he was appointed as JGR’s new competition director. While this was a big shake-up up it has worked for the entire organization. And for the past few weeks, Gabehart is calling the shots at the top of the pit box of the #54 team as a race strategist. At Michigan, Ty wanted to go all out for the win just like Hamlin, but he was told not to burn the fuel and stay content with a P3 finish.
“Hey, we didn’t give (anything) away. We had a great day. We did what we needed to do. We got a top five. Our other car won. It’s about the big picture. All right? Take this and build.” This was Gabehart’s radio message to the young driver. Gibbs also led 32 laps at EchoPark Speedway and managed to escape the chaos that took out half of the contenders. Given the surge in consistent runs and race-winning speeds, the 22-year-old is in good hands, according to Kevin Harvick.
“I think with Ty Gibbs, it’s improved a lot over the last two or three months. They’ve had the speed to be able to win races. Having Chris Gabehart there helping make decisions is going to put it into a position that brings a lot of experience to a very young team,” said Kevin Harvick in his Happy Hour Podcast.
It will be interesting to see how differently Ty Gibbs will race his competitors in the remaining seven regular-season races. Will he finally shut down his critics with a win or take the humbling pill?
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