In NASCAR, few family names carry the weight of “Gibbs.” When Joe Gibbs transitioned from NFL coaching legend to NASCAR team owner in 1992, he built an empire that’s claimed five Cup Series championships. His grandson Ty Gibbs entered the Cup Series as a full-time driver in 2023 with immense expectations, having already captured the 2022 Xfinity Series championship. But as the 2025 season unfolds, those expectations have crashed against the reality of consistently disappointing finishes. Now, Heather Gibbs, Joe’s daughter-in-law and Ty’s mother has publicly expressed concerns about her son’s struggles and NASCAR’s scheduling decisions.

The 22-year-old Gibbs has finished 25th or worse in eight of his last nine races dating back to October 2024. His 2025 campaign opened with a 16th-place finish at Daytona, followed by results of 32nd at Atlanta, 34th at Circuit of the Americas, and 25th at Phoenix. These struggles are particularly glaring as teammate Christopher Bell rides a three-race winning streak and sits on the verge of making it four consecutive victories.

“I mean, you’re concerned,” Heather Gibbs candidly admitted when discussing her son’s performance. She specifically criticized NASCAR’s early-season scheduling: “It’s unfortunate the first two races of our season are super speedways, you know, basically back-to-back. It’s hard because your drivers get rattled. If they get their bell rung, they’re going right back to another track where there’s a high probability of crashing.”

For Ty Gibbs, when it came to the Daytona 500, he managed to steer clear of the chaos, coming in at 16th place. However, with NASCAR putting the Atlanta race right after, Gibbs’ luck ran out pretty quickly. Gibbs wrecked in an incident with Daniel Suarez, Cole Custer, and others in Lap 184 when Gibbs tried to thread the needle with Suarez taking the high line. Inadvertently, this ruined his momentum for the following races as well.

Heather pointed to specific incidents that have hampered the No. 54 team this season. “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. We made a bunch of changes in the offseason. So they’ve got some growing pains to learn, you know, what each other can do and support and lean on. We put Gabe Hart in the competition role to lead that group. And we believe, even without the results, you know, behind the scenes, there’s a lot of traction. And just a matter of, you know, let’s just get a couple good finishes under our belt. And let their confidence continue to build,” she explained.

She also highlighted the team’s offseason changes, including a new crew chief in Tyler Allen after Chris Gayle moved to Denny Hamlin’s team. For Ty Gibbs, this could be the perfect opportunity to prove himself. Christopher Bell is on something of a hot streak, and Ty Gibbs can follow his lead at Las Vegas, perhaps even outshine Bell. After all, Vegas was his stomping ground in Xfinity. Gibbs won a race during his time in Xfinity, along with several finishes in the top-five and top-3.

Allen knows a good result is right around the corner. Ahead of the Las Vegas race, he said, “He’s a fierce competitor and wants to win just like me. But you know, the Cup Series is hard, and you’ve got to focus on all the details. So I think if you asked both of us, we feel like things are going to turn around. No negativity. Disappointed in the results, but we’re both ready to go have some good results.” Even Chris Gabehart echoed this sentiment when he said, “I don’t expect anyone to like the results. He definitely doesn’t like it, but he responds in a professional manner of: ‘It’s part of it. We just got to keep digging.’ And it’s really been a lot of work by a lot of people to help turn that corner for him, but none bigger than himself and just maturing into understanding the pressures of the Cup season’s schedule.” 

For Gibbs, the change in personnel echoes JGR’s history with young drivers. Joey Logano faced similar struggles early in his career with the organization before finding championship success elsewhere. Like Logano, Gibbs showed promising flashes in 2024 with eight top-five finishes and 12 top-tens.

Veterans in the sport share Heather’s concerns. Former champion Kevin Harvick recently commented, “I’m concerned too… And I think right now as we saw that little slump, as we got towards the end of last year, that’s carried over into this year. And now they just need to right the ship.” Clint Bowyer was even more direct: “He is in trouble. They need to right the ship… Something is going on with Ty Gibbs and this race car. They’ve got to get what he needs underneath of him so he can get out and do his job.”

The pressure mounted further when Ty made his High Limits Racing Sprint Car debut Saturday night at the Las Vegas Dirt Track. Although he impressively advanced to the A-Main, his night ended dramatically when his car flipped three times on the first lap. This crash raises questions about Joe Gibbs Racing‘s policy on drivers competing in non-NASCAR events.

Is William Byron’s Path a Blueprint for Ty Gibbs’ Future?

The current struggles of Ty Gibbs bear striking similarities to William Byron’s early Cup Series career, offering potential hope for the young Gibbs driver. When Byron entered the Cup Series full-time in 2018 with Hendrick Motorsports, expectations were sky-high following his championship in the 2017 Xfinity Series—nearly identical to Gibbs’ path. Byron’s rookie Cup season resulted in just four top-10 finishes and an average finish of 22.1, along with nine DNFs—statistics that parallel Gibbs’ current difficulties.

Like Gibbs, Byron faced criticism despite driving top-tier equipment. The turning point for Byron came when Hendrick Motorsports paired him with veteran crew chief Chad Knaus in 2019, similar to Joe Gibbs Racing’s decision to place Ty Gibbs with experienced competition director Chris Gabehart overseeing his program.

Byron’s persistence eventually paid off with his first Cup win in 2020, followed by consistent improvement that culminated in back-to-back Daytona 500 victories in 2024 and 2025. As Gibbs faces his sophomore slump in 2025, Byron’s career trajectory serves as evidence that early struggles don’t define a young driver’s NASCAR future—especially one with demonstrated talent like Gibbs’ 2022 Xfinity Series championship. As the Cup Series continues at Las Vegas Motor Speedway today, the Gibbs family hopes the No. 54 team can begin the same upward trajectory that transformed Byron from a criticized prospect to a championship contender.