After Replacing SHR Reject, Joe Gibbs’ Grandson Outperforms Kyle Busch at Charlotte

History seems to be repeating itself! Just a day ago, news broke that the #20 car, originally slated for Aric Almirola, who until last year drove for Stewart-Haas Racing, would be handed over to Ty Gibbs for this week’s Xfinity race. And well, for now, he has silenced the haters who called him privileged.

After the All-Star Open, Gibbs has now won the pole position at Charlotte Motor Speedway after outpacing Kyle Busch, who is a Cup series regular. It is Ty Gibbs’ second start of the Xfinity season but his first in the #20 car; his earlier race was in the #19 at the Circuit of America, where he finished P24.

Cup regulars, including Kyle Busch, are set to headline the Xfinity race in Charlotte

Ty Gibbs won his eighth-career Xfinity pole with a blistering lap of 30.475 seconds at 177.194 mph, marking his first pole win at the 1.5-mile speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Kyle Busch, diving into his first Xfinity race of the season, wasn’t far behind, trailing Gibbs by 0.123 seconds. Busch is steering a third entry this weekend, the #33 Chevy Camaro, for Richard Childress Racing.

Chandler Smith shone as the highest-qualifying Xfinity regular, finishing third in the #81 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Jesse Love and Jeb Burton are hot on his heels, rounding out the top five in a packed 38-car lineup.

Cole Custer and Sheldon Creed landed P6 and P7 spots, respectively. Points leader Austin Hill will be starting P8 with a speed of 175.365 mph. Last year’s race champion, Justin Allgaier, will kick off from P9 after clocking in at 175.160 mph, while Brandon Jones secured the P10 position.

Gibbs and Busch are gearing up for both the Xfinity and Cup races this weekend. Joining them, Noah Gragson finished in the P18 spot with a speed of 173.144 mph. Shane van Gisbergen, clocking in at 169.907 mph, landed P29, while Chase Elliott was right behind him in P30 with a speed of 169.843 mph. JJ Yeley will kick off from the back in P38 after a spin during his qualifying lap, which threw a wrench in his plans.

Out of 40 cars vying for a spot, Jade Buford in the #74 Chevy and Akinori Ogata in the #35 Joey Gase Motorsports entry didn’t cut. Ogata joined Yeley in spinning out during their qualifying attempts, adding some drama to the session.

But the intriguing part is that if Ty Gibbs manages to pull off a win at Charlotte—too many—it would feel like 2007 is back again.

Is there a possibility of another 2007-like incident happening again?

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Ty Gibbs slipped into the driver lineup at the last minute for this weekend’s race in the Joe Gibbs Racing #20 Toyota GR Supra, bumping Aric Almirola out. “Yeah, I think I found out on Thursday morning, early Thursday morning. So that’s nice, or Wednesday. It might have been Wednesday, sorry,” Gibbs said after winning the pole for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event. But why does this stir up memories of 2007?

Let’s rewind to 2007, a year that surely Almirola won’t forget. While the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars were turning laps at Sonoma Raceway, Almirola was across the country at the Milwaukee Mile, where he scorched the track to qualify the #20 JGR Chevrolet on pole for the Xfinity race. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin, who was supposed to drive that race, was wrapping up at Sonoma and flew to Milwaukee late.

Almirola started the race, but as soon as Hamlin arrived, the team made them swap out on Lap 59, reportedly to please a sponsor. Although Hamlin finished the race, it was Almirola who was credited with the win due to starting the race, leading him to part ways with JGR afterward.

Fast forward to now, and with Gibbs stepping into what was supposed to be Almirola’s ride again, shades of the past emerge. While Almirola won’t be sidelined mid-race this time, this last-minute swap isn’t a new scenario for him. Could this spark another controversial moment if Gibbs pulls off a win?