“It’s not there on Saturday, and it’s not there on Sunday right now.” Larry McReynolds, FOX Sports racing analyst, recently said these words about Joe Gibbs’ most underperforming driver at present. That is none other than Joe Gibbs Racing owner’s grandson, Ty Gibbs. And McReynolds is right – he has only three qualifying efforts better than 23rd. After his 16th-place result in Daytona, the younger Gibbs finished outside the top 22 – until the Martinsville race. So now his grandfather will not tolerate the detractors.

Joe Gibbs was beaming with pride after the Cook Out 400. His longest tenured driver, Denny Hamlin, snapped a 31-race winless skid and brought home his 6th grandfather clock. But Gibbs has more reason to be content – as his kin Ty Gibbs fought against tremendous odds to notch up his best finish of the season.

Ty Gibbs hopes against hope

Well, the situation may be dismal for the No. 54 Toyota team right now. However, Ty Gibbs, his crew chief Tyler Allen, and the entire fold are not giving up. That tireless perseverance was reflected in Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway. Gibbs rolled off of a decent 13th-place qualifying effort and he put up with a slew of challenges. Firstly, his cooling suit malfunctioned, and yet Gibbs drove on while his car heated up to over 100 degrees. Then Tyler Reddick, another Toyota driver, hit the No. 54, who missed the corner slightly while going into Turn 1. The contact spun around Gibbs, who hurled expletives at Reddick. It forced his car to drop back a few spots.

Despite these gigantic setbacks, Ty Gibbs managed to finish ahead of Tyler Reddick in 13th place. This decent top-15 finish indicated that the No. 54 team fought tooth and nail against adversity. So Gibbs’ grandfather was happy for him and issued warnings to people who doubted his pace. “Obviously, everybody knows that we’ve been off to such a tough start. When that happens, always, what I’m caught up in is looking at who helps us, who supports us – who’s going to help us get out of it. That’s always what I have focused on. I think that’s the same way with Ty. He’s just fighting his rear end off to get back up front.”

Ty Gibbs ran amongst the top 15 for most of the race, and for the first time this season, he was showing as much pace as his fellow Toyotas. Has he finally figured out a formula with his rookie crew chief, Tyler Allen? Time will tell. However, this race could have been a sure-shot top-10 finish if not for the aforementioned collision with Tyler Reddick that led to a post-race confrontation.

Indeed, this is not the first time that fans have detracted Ty Gibbs. The 22-year-old attracted controversy even when he was at the peak of his performance. En route to his 2022 Xfinity Series title, Gibbs ticked off several rivals, including Noah Gragson and Brandon Jones, with his aggressive moves. This time, he seems to be at the receiving end of it. “You’d better keep me away from that little f—– after this race, too,” he said after Tyler Reddick spun him out. However, his crew chief clarified that it was not Reddick’s fault. Reddick was trying to lift for him, but Austin Dillon got in the way. “Normal deal. He stuck his nose, and then the 3 [Austin Dillon] was just piling through him from behind. Nothing you can do about it.”

However, the rebound from crippling setbacks in Martinsville sets a new goal for the 54 team. According to McReynolds – one of the critics that Joe Gibbs is cautious about – they might get it done.

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Teammates are the recipe for success

Well, everybody knows who dominated the storylines in the early part of this season. Christopher Bell clinched three back-to-back race victories in Atlanta, COTA, and Phoenix – a feat unheard of in the Next-Gen era. He came dangerously close to fetching a fourth in Las Vegas if not for a loose wheel at a peculiar pit stop. So, Bell’s unmatched pace should be causing a bitter feeling for Ty Gibbs’ fold. What is more? The other teammates are catching up now – Denny Hamlin just got his first win of the season. Chase Briscoe, a former Ford driver, already has three top-ten results. So that leaves out Gibbs. However, according to Larry McReynolds, Gibbs can benefit most only by taking inspiration from his team.

The former NASCAR crew chief analyzed Ty Gibbs’ 2025 dismal streak recently. But while dissecting Joe Gibbs‘ grandson’s poor stats, he also slipped an escape route. He stressed that Gibbs needs to weather the current storm: “When you’re struggling, it’s even more of a struggle if your teammates are struggling, ’cause then you start questioning everything. You start questioning engine. You start questioning the setup and chassis. You start questioning aero. But if you can look across the shop and you see someone like the 20 that’s won three of our six races, you go, ‘The good thing is we know it’s obtainable. We know it’s possible with what we have.’”

Evidently, if Ty Gibbs can grit his teeth and continue giving a tough fight, the light at the end of the tunnel may not be so far. Let us see when Joe Gibbs’ grandson can achieve his mojo.