Two of Joe Gibbs’ drivers had a solid chance of making it into the next round, heading to Bristol. Yet both managed to ruin their playoff plans. While Cup stalwart Martin Truex Jr saw a heartbreaking end to his retirement wish, Ty Gibbs also suffered a similar fate. Quite like his veteran peer, the young stud packed a lot of energy entering the Bass Pro Shops Night Race. However, a brush-up with NASCAR’s rulebook axed his hard work and threw him outside the playoff grid.

Ty Gibbs waxes despair about failed hopes

In his still-budding NASCAR career, Ty Gibbs has already glittered like a star. 47% of his total laps led came at Bristol Motor Speedway – 102 laps under the lights last year and 137 laps this spring. However, he could not keep up that Thunder Valley momentum when it mattered a lot. Entering Bristol with only 6 points above the cutline, Gibbs was walking on eggshells. He qualified 13th and even cracked the top ten in the first stage. But soon after, a stroke of bad luck set in.

Right after stage 1 ended, Ty Gibbs was penalized for speeding on the pit road. He lost all his track positions and started from the back of the field. The No. 54 Toyota team could not scramble back up after that, as Gibbs struggled. On lap 305, Gibbs was still mired mid-pack, running 16th. Eventually, he could finish 15th and found himself eliminated from the Round of 12. Post-race, he delivered a woeful verdict on his performance: “Unfortunate.”

The No. 54 team had delivered stellar runs throughout the year. Clinching 11 top-tens and 7 top-fives, Ty Gibbs came dangerously close to winning many times, especially at Darlington. So to see those efforts meet this end tugged at Gibbs’ heart. “Yeah, it’s just unfortunate there. Like we were good at practice and qualifying… just a little bit too loose tonight, fired off too slight. So, just unfortunate… ran the lights so close. And just got a little bit too much, I guess… Proud of these guys and all of the effort they have given me, and we’ll keep up.”

Evidently, Joe Gibbs now has two heartbroken drivers in his fold, Truex and his own grandson. They can now solely focus on winning and probably spoiling the playoff hopes of their rivals.