Ty Gibbs is now the longest-tenured Joe Gibbs Racing driver to go winless after 91 Cup Series starts. This record was previously held by J.J. Yeley, who went 79 races without a victory lane visit until he jumped ships to Hall of Fame Racing in 2008. Well, it’s not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison, given that Ty Gibbs has a history of winning races and championships in the lower divisions. He won the Xfinity Series championship in 2022, which subsequently opened the doors for his full-time opportunity in the Cup Series.
Driving the No. 54 JGR car, he had all the means and resources to make a splash in the premier series. But in reality, Gibbs hasn’t been able to hit top gear just yet. Going winless throughout the 2024 campaign, the onus was on him to shut down the outside noise who labeled him as a nepotism product. But the start of the new year was more or less the same. In the first six races of the season, the best finish for the #54 team was a 16th place finish at Daytona. And the pressure was getting to them. So much so that Coach Gibbs had to acknowledge the tough going: “There’s no secret here, we’ve gone through a tough time. You know to start the year and everything that’s happened to us. There’s not much gone our way.”
The only path ahead for the 22-year-old driver was to keep his head down and start grinding. And guess what? The perseverance and the efforts are finally starting to pay off. After a top 10 run at Darlington Raceway, Ty made a statement with a P3 finish last Sunday at the Bristol Motor Speedway. While Kyle Larson grabbed the headlines with a dominant win, Gibbs was quietly making his way up and notched the best finish of the 2025 season so far. But Ty felt that the team is capable of more top 5 runs.
“I think it’s a good day for us. I think we’re definitely a capable team of running in top 5 every weekend. But very happy to have a good run and definitely think we’re gonna be solid.” Ty Gibbs said after the race. But, for those who watched last year’s spring Bristol race and this year’s event, it was a night-and-day difference. Tire wear was almost negligible, with drivers pushing 89-90 laps on the Goodyear tires that melted after 40 laps in 2024.
.@TyGibbs says it’s refreshing to run up front again, the 54 was top-10 in Darlington last week and 3rd today from @ItsBristolBaby. #FoodCity500 #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/lo6DFsNhKn
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) April 13, 2025
If anything, the race was a carbon copy of Kyle Larson’s fall race win, where he led 462 laps to win the race. And last Sunday, the driver of the No. 5 Chevy put in another clinical performance, leading 411 laps of 500 and sweeping both the stages. A lot has been said about the short-track package, where drivers have little to no chance of passing their rivals on the track. Track position is the key, and if the race stays green, it becomes a snooze fest and less of bumper-to-bumper action, which a track like Bristol was known for. Well, this has been the state of short-track races ever since NASCAR rolled out the Next Gen car. And let’s just say, Ty, like other veteran drivers, has almost given up on demands for a better on-track racing product.
When Everyone Has the Same Toolbox
After a good race, Gibbs sounded almost philosophical when asked what was ailing the sport. “We all have the same car, so it’s just what it is,” he said. “It’s going to be hard to pass because everybody’s got the same exact stuff and very small adjustments. I think that’s what they wanted, and now it’s kind of what we’ve got.” That quiet grievance has resonated through the Cup Series garage. But in return for parity, NASCAR may have lost performance nuance and race excitement. The long stretches of single-lane racing and little overtaking in the last race in Bristol, where Gibbs was speaking, have provoked some fans and drivers alike.
Gibbs did not really say anything against NASCAR, but it was understood. “You can keep adjusting the tire and slowing it down, but then we all slow down together,” he insisted in his explanation of the irony behind parity. This was his subtle take on the option tire which NASCAR rolled out at Martinsville last year and brought it to Phoenix race at the start of the season. But, it seems NASCAR is done with that experiment as well.
It is worth remembering that the Richmond Raceway lost a date on the schedule so that NASCAR could fit in the international event in Mexico. They could’ve opted to chalk off road course events, but with the current trends, it looks like short tracks are the most vulnerable. It will be interesting to see how NASCAR deals with the growing concerns surrounding short-track racing.
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