“Tough Ask … to Replace Kyle Busch” – Denny Hamlin Writes Off Joe Gibbs’s Rookie Grandson’s Playoff Chances

The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season marked the end of an era. This was because it was the final season for Kyle Busch in Joe Gibbs Racing machinery. As he joined the #8 Richard Childress Racing team, a seat was left vacant in JGR, so Ty Gibbs was promoted to be the fourth driver. However, it is worth mentioning that he did not take over the #18 Toyota. Instead, the #18 number was gracefully retired and Gibbs took on the #54 number for the new season. Recently, Denny Hamlin opened up about the veteran and the rookie.

Hamlin virtually joined the hosts Large Barstool and Spider on the sets of the Rubbin’ is Racing podcast. During the conversation, the topic of Ty taking over the reins from Busch came up, and Hamlin had a quite sophisticated take on the matter.

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So far, the 20-year-old rookie has performed admirably. Gibbs racked up five Top 10 finishes, including four in a row in Atlanta, Circuit of the Americas, Richmond, and Bristol Dirt. Additionally, he recorded a career-best finish of 5th in Pocono last weekend. Hamlin admitted that he would like to see Gibbs go from strength to strength. However, he did caution that the #54 driver sometimes struggles on road courses, and there are a few coming up.

Speaking about Ty Gibbs’s chances to qualify for the playoffs, Denny Hamlin said, “I would say no. That’s my honest answer.

“Am I rooting for him? Yes.

“Do I want him to beat the #23? No.

“I just think that with some of the road courses coming up, he hasn’t been super fast on the road courses. Daytona—you just never know what can happen there. He’s putting himself in a better position every week, he’s getting better. That’s all you ask out of a rookie and it’s a tough ask to ask him to replace Kyle Busch. That’s why they changed the number and changed all that stuff. You don’t want those comparisons because it’s not deserving.”

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“He’s doing it well”: Hamlin believes Ty Gibbs is on the right path

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Denny Hamlin also insisted that Ty Gibbs was not a replacement for Kyle Busch. The 2-time Cup Series champion had pretty much been the face of Joe Gibbs Racing. Naturally, it would be unfair to expect a rookie driver to achieve the same level of success as a driver of Busch’s caliber.

Hamlin added, “It takes a long time to get the craft that Kyle Busch has got in racing. He’s doing it well, for a rookie, out-kicking his coverage. If he makes it in his first year, Man! That’s a huge accomplishment.”

On the other hand, Busch has been straight on the money in his debut season with RCR. He has already racked up three wins this season and is firmly in title contention. This is a far cry from the twilight of his Joe Gibbs Racing years, where he was just scrounging one or two wins. To be fair, his last title was in 2019, his second one, and he could be on track for a third.

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