“It’s time for Mom and Coach to have a heart-to-heart with Ty.” Larry McReynolds said this about Ty’s struggles. The 2025 NASCAR campaign has been a mixed bag for Joe Gibbs Racing. You have Christopher Bell mounting a three-peat while Chase Briscoe and other teammates are playing catch-up to Bell’s milestone achievement. Coach Gibbs’ grandson, Ty Gibbs, in particular, was feeling the heat after a dismal start to the year.
Only 22 years old, Ty has had the burden of a family dynasty on his shoulders, but this season, the wheels have fallen off. With finishes bottoming out—four in 25th or lower place—and a winless drought of 77 Cup Series starts, the pressure is building. Fans are restless, critics are loud, and the legacy of Joe Gibbs Racing feels like it’s teetering.
After a streak of 22nd or worse finishes in the last five races, the 2022 Xfinity Series champ showed flashes of improvement. A 13th-place finish at Martinsville is not something to rave about, but looking at the past performances, the No. 54 team, for once, have caught a good break. And Grandpa Gibbs took notice of it, while also sharing a powerful message that could help the team turn a corner for good.
Joe Gibbs is grateful to all the people standing like a rock behind his grandson
Ty‘s career-slowing slump has people wondering if he‘s made of the right stuff. But then came Martinsville with a monster comeback. Ty proved the doubters wrong, fighting back with determination. Joey Logano ramming him under caution didn‘t deter him. Not only that, he even locked horns with Tyler Reddick and battled the malfunction on his cool suit during the race. He could’ve lost his focus and just accepted his fate, but he stuck to his task and bagged a 13th-place finish, his best result of 2025.
Now, this is nothing compared to the hype he brought to the JGR camp after bagging the Xfinity Series title. But, despite the rough patch, coach Gibbs and the No. 54 team are doing everything in their power to help Ty turn a corner for good. And let’s just say the 22-year-old has got all the support he needs to stage a comeback. “There’s no secret here, we going through a tough time. You know, the start of the year and everything that’s happening to us, there’s not much going our way. And when that happens, I know what I’m studying through all of that, and that is who surrounds us, who’s there with us, who’s working their rear end off at the race shop to try and get us back. Those are the people that I just really, really appreciate.” Joe Gibbs said this after the Martinsville race.
“And we’ve got some of those guys that are leading us out of this. So I appreciate it for Heather, for myself. This is really tough, and so it’s a big deal for us. And so thank you for asking that question. So I appreciate it. But we’re going to fight. Ty’s dad, Coy. His statement was ‘Always anytime we got tough stuff that’s his kids. I raised my kids tough.’ That’s what he said, so…” Coach Gibbs added.
Coy’s death in 2022 still lingers with them. He passed away hours after Ty’s Xfinity championship victory, a bitter irony for a family founded on perseverance. Consider what the poor bloke must’ve been going through from experiencing such a high at one point to having his world rocked the other. Now, Coach Gibbs is taking that grit and using it for Ty. Heather Gibbs, Ty’s mother and co-owner of JGR, had said, “You know, in this sport, you’re losing more than you’re winning. And it’s about being mentally tough. And being able to get back up every single time you get back down. And I think we have that.” The shop’s grinding, Ty’s clawing, and his grandfather and his mother got his back.
Joe Gibbs, when asked by @dustinlong about his grandson’s Ty season, says they will keep fighting through the tough times. @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/w5gQcW41vc
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) March 31, 2025
We have seen the likes of Chase Elliott and Harrison Burton go through similar experiences. Carrying the family banner and trying to live up to the expectations. Elliott’s first win came in his third full-time season driving the No. 24 car, whereas Burton had a similar trajectory until he won at Daytona last year. Ty Gibbs might be in the best equipment at JGR, but Cup Series racing is tough and very competitive. While a win is something that the #54 team is eagerly hoping for, a streak of top 10 runs and consistent results is what they need right now.
Ty Gibbs switching lanes for asphalt to dirt in 2025
Ty Gibbs, the young NASCAR star, stepped onto the dirt for the first time in a Midget car, and it felt massive. On November 30, 2024, at Ventura Raceway for the Turkey Night Grand Prix, the 22-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing driver traded asphalt for dirt, competing alongside legends Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch. It was greater than a race; it was Ty demonstrating he‘s got heart outside the pavement. And right there with him was teammate Christopher Bell, a dirt warrior rewriting his own tale.
This all started when JGR turned the script around that week, allowing their drivers to get on the dirt. JGR once outlawed it, haunted by the 2013 Tony Stewart sprint car wreck that broke his leg and sat him out. But now they’ve gotten loose. Ty, who‘d torn up North Carolina clay as a young boy in Outlaw Karts, tackled Midgets with Chad Boat Industries, placing 32nd in practice times. Not showy, but dependable.
Bell, though, is a beast. After years of pushing JGR to let him race dirt, he dominated the Chili Bowl in January 2025, sweeping his heat, qualifier, and the A-Main with a last-lap pass on Corey Day. “I feel like I’m in a really good spot,” he told. The guy was just simple unstoppable.
Kyle Larson, a dirt icon, loved it. “I think that’s great for the sport, NASCAR and grassroots racing. It’s exciting,” he said about JGR’s shift. Larson led practice and was ninth fastest, with Busch in the fray, too. For Ty, this debut was his fresh start and an exposure to a whole new world. Dirt flew, engines roared, Ty swung hard, and Bell blazed beside him. Hopefully, this switch in racing style will allow Ty to learn a trick or two in how to excel on Sundays, and right now, he could use all the help he gets.
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