“It Wasn’t Enough” – JGR Driver Ty Gibbs Misses Golden Opportunity at Indianapolis

Making it into NASCAR is itself a hard nut to crack. However, for some drives, like Ty Gibbs, the journey may have been a little easier. He is currently driving for his grandfather’s team, which is also one of NASCAR’s most successful teams. The 20-year-old Xfinity sensation who has made a name for himself was named Joe Gibbs Racing’s #54 driver, with many fans calling it ‘too soon’ for the youngster.

While his 2023 season so far has been decent compared to fellow rookie, Noah Gragson, who is at the bottom of the barrel, Joe Gibbs‘ grandson has had his highs and lows. The youngster, who needed a major turnaround to make it into the playoffs with this being his rookie season in the Cup Series, had it all – a fast car and, a potent team – but instead of climbing up the ladder, the youngster missed a golden opportunity at the grandest of them all, Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Reacting to Gibbs’ missed chance at Indianapolis, where he barely missed the top 10 despite having one of the fastest cars in practice, NASCAR legend and current NBC analyst did not sugarcoat his take, calling a spade a spade.

NASCAR legend gets honest about Ty Gibbs’ missed opportunity at Indianapolis

2023 has sort of been like a sinusoidal wave for Ty Gibbs’ Joe Gibbs Racing’s youngest driver with frequent ups and downs. Ranked at 18th, the Xfinity champion is just out of the playoff conversation, and with his highly anticipated Indianapolis going south for him, missing the top 10, and finishing 12th, the youngster now has dark clouds looming over his rookie season.

When Kyle Busch left Joe Gibbs Racing – the team that earned him 2 championships, Joe Gibbs decided to bet on his own blood in the form of his grandson by handing him the opportunity to be Busch’s replacement at the helm of the #54 Toyota. While the young blood has only had a handful of top-10 performances, he has actually had a great car.

However, an early tangle in the race with SVG cost him track position. While the driver tried his best to make up for the lost position, the frantic and flawless pace of the field meant hardship for the youngster as he finished 12th, unable to make up the lost ground.

Reflecting on his missed opportunity, NBC analyst and NASCAR great, Jeff Burton chimed in with his honest take, saying, “Ty Gibbs, I thought in practice I thought Ty Gibbs had one of the very fastest race cars on track and he ended up getting spun, it wasn’t his fault, he did come back but it wasn’t enough.” 

“Look at all the track position he lost right here and on a race where it was, it went green, you’re not going to get it back and so he fought and he called and got a decent finish out of it but a good opportunity with the speed they had were not able to take advantage of it,” said the veteran. 

WATCH THIS STORY: Martin Truex Jr criticizes Joe Gibbs’ crew in recent interview 

Ty Gibbs tastes victory at Indianapolis despite his lost Cup Series opportunity

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While the 2022 Xfinity Series champion got a taste of what it is like to race with a super competitive and seasoned pack in a flawless race (1 caution throughout the 82 laps) his Saturday’s Xfinity run proved his mettle as he racked up his first win in NASCAR’s second-tier division, outrunning Sam Mayer and outshining the Indy conqueror, AJ Allmendinger.

Though the race was red-flagged for a brief 45 minutes due to lightning, the race got underway and was a testing ground for the young Gibbs who was in it against Allmendinger who won at the track 3 consecutive times and claimed the pole for the race.

READ MORE: Joe Gibbs’ “Baby Brat” Faces the Racing Community’s Wrath

Surprisingly enough, Ty Gibbs who won neither of the first 2 stages, quickly pranced into action after he passed the Kaulig Racing driver and held on to it like his life depended upon on, furiously holding his ground despite the serious challenge from Sam Mayer in the closing laps.

With another Xfinity win to his name and the driver returning to his winning ways, the young Gibbs now has 13 Xfinity wins to his name, making the reigning champ a force to be reckoned with.