Joe Gibbs Forfeits His Ownership Role, Choosing to Be a Grandfather as Ty Gibbs Brings Pride to the Family

The youngest driver on the Cup Series grid is wowing his fans and family with each passing race. The 21-year-old Ty Gibbs fetched four top-fives this season, including a runner-up spot at Darlington. Recently, he cruised to a victorious finish at the All-Star Open race. Now the young stud has made jaws drop again with another badge for NASCAR’s crown jewel event.

All the achievements have thrilled Gibbs’ grandfather and family. While Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr occupy Joe Gibbs’ attention most of the time, presently the football coach-turned-race team owner is wholeheartedly focusing on his grandson’s achievement.

Joe Gibbs gushes with pride as a grandpa

JGR No. 19 driver Martin Truex Jr stands in solid contention to win the Charlotte race, owning two wins at the prestigious track. However, Joe Gibbs’ own family turned heads recently, as Ty Gibbs achieved a milestone. Ty Gibbs won the pole for the Xfinity race and followed it up with another win. In Saturday’s qualifying session for the Coca-Cola 600, he covered the distance in 29.355 seconds (183.955 mph) to claim the first Busch Light Pole Award of his career.

This has got his grandfather bubbling with pride and enthusiasm. Although Ty Gibbs is not making any buzz about his win, the family’s reaction is different. Speaking to journalist Claire Lang, Joe Gibbs said: “Yeah, we’ll make a bigger deal out of it than he does. Certainly, his mother, the whole family…calling Pat and everybody. We’re really excited about it. I think the way you relate to it is, every mother and father out there.”

Gibbs further underlined the family’s good fortune, hinting at his grandpa pride. “When your kid does something this special, or grandkid, it’s just a super feeling. This has been his dream, so we’re excited. God’s blessed us with so much, with our family. Our whole family is enjoying this, it’ll be that way.”

Ty Gibbs became the second youngest driver to win a pole. William Byron was roughly a month younger when he won the pole for the 2019 Coca-Cola 600 race at age 21. This time around, Gibbs edged out the Hendrick driver by 0.060 seconds to grab the pole. Hence, Joe Gibbs relinquished his team owner garb to wear a proud grandpa’s outfit. “I’m Ty’s grandad. It’s a lot of fun. It’s fun doing that.”

Akin to the family’s enthusiasm, Ty Gibbs also acknowledged the time spent with his family leading up to this win.

Racing runs in the Gibbs family

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Although two heartbreaking tragedies struck the Gibbs family, Ty Gibbs has continued to put their name in the front row. His father, Coy Gibbs, former JGR vice chairman and chief operating officer, passed away in 2022. And, Coy’s brother, J.D., also left this earth in 2019. Now Ty is actively filling their absence with his stellar performance and making his grandfather proud.

After securing the pole in qualifying, Ty Gibbs recalled his earliest family outing in the Coca-Cola 600. “I think my earliest memory is probably watching pole night – I don’t know if that was on a Thursday or Friday, but I remember coming to that when I was younger with my family. I’ve been to so many of them.” That first pole win experience paved the way for Ty Gibbs to win his 2024 Charlotte pole win.

With his family sticking strongly to his side, Ty Gibbs is bound to make a tough shot for the Coke 600 win.