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DOVER, DE – SEPTEMBER 29: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Nationwide Chevrolet, stands in the garage area during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Apache Warrior 400 presented by Lucas Oil at Dover International Speedway on September 29, 2017 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

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DOVER, DE – SEPTEMBER 29: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Nationwide Chevrolet, stands in the garage area during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Apache Warrior 400 presented by Lucas Oil at Dover International Speedway on September 29, 2017 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)
Apart from Ross Chastain’s video game move, one of the most unexpected things from NASCAR this weekend was a young Ty Gibbs seemingly comparing himself to Jesus Christ. However, if Dale Earnhardt Jr. is to be believed, that wasn’t his own thought.
That was something that was either planted in his head, or something that was told to him in a different context.
💭 "Jesus was hated first and among all the people. That's a part of it […] silencing out the crowd."
🗣️ On @SiriusXMNASCAR with @ClaireBLang, @TyGibbs discusses getting booed by fans following his #DeadOnTools250 win @MartinsvilleSwy. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/6Idulbkf8F
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) October 29, 2022
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Speculating about Gibbs’ Jesus comment and where it could’ve come from, Dale Jr. said, “He didn’t learn that, somebody told him.”
“Somebody mentioned that very line to him this week, a week ago, in trying to sit down and say, ‘Ty, this is how we’re gonna work through this. You’ve ticked off, in what we’ve done this year, you’ve upset some fans but, I’mma say something, might make you feel a little better about the situation,'” he continued.
“And he took that and planted it in his brain, and in that moment decided to recite that word, that advice.”
Earnhardt Jr’s opinion on this was furthered by Hendrick Motorsports legend Steve Letarte as he gave his own thoughts on the Jesus comment.
“You can tell when you’re talking to somebody who’s read a lot…but when someone says something like that, that’s not a Ty Gibbs Original Thought, I don’t believe,” Letarte said. “That is something he has heard.”
“It’s kind of like talking to young children, and then they take a very harmless comment and they apply at the wrong time.”
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Dale Earnhardt Jr feels Joe Gibbs Racing need to better their internal communication
Going further on the root of where the Jesus comments may have come from in Ty Gibbs’ mind, Dale Earnhardt Jr. singled out on Joe Gibbs Racing for not having proper internal communication with their driver.
“I think that there needs to be a small adjustment or a big adjustment in how they are internally communicating with Ty, because it felt like he got out thinking, I did what they wanted me to do,” Dale Jr. emphasized.

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NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 17: Dale Earnhardt Jr. visits the Andy Cohen Show to discuss his book book “Racing To The Finish: My Story” on Radio Andy at SiriusXM Studios on October 17, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
According to the NASCAR Hall of Famer, Ty Gibbs is listening to “Everything they’re telling him,” that the young driver is taking “stuff literally.”
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