It’s Ty Gibbs’ time to shine. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has spent two full seasons in the Cup Series, seeing a slow but steady rise at NASCAR’s highest level. Going into 2024, there was an underlying expectation that the youngster might fall victim to the ‘sophomore jinx’, which has claimed many promising drivers over the years. However, the North Carolina native put such rumors to rest, with a bright start to the season, even though he could not keep up the consistency throughout his campaign.

The next year marks a new beginning for Joe Gibbs’ grandson. With a new crew chief atop the pit box, could the 22-year-old finally secure his first win in NASCAR’s premier competition and become a force to be reckoned with?

Bookies are optimistic about Ty Gibbs’ chances

Ty Gibbs has an abundance of talent. The racing driver won the championship in his first and only full-time Xfinity Series season, securing seven wins in 2022. Such was his dominance in the No. 54 Toyota, that the racer secured sixteen top-five finishes that year, an impressive set of results, given his age and inexperience. The triumph earned him a move to his grandfather’s Cup Series team, but going wheel-to-wheel against NASCAR’s heavyweights proved to be a difficult challenge for the youngster.

However, with two years of experience under his belt, expectations are at an all-time high for Ty Gibbs. According to NASCAR’s website, the odds of him winning the Cup Series championship are 22-1, an optimistic appraisal of a driver who has not yet entered Victory Lane in the competition. With Chris Gayle taking over Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota, Tyler Allen will be atop the pit box for Gibbs’ No. 54 next year, and despite his lack of experience, the bookies are expecting the duo to shine.

Are they seeing something that others aren’t? In his first full season, Ty Gibbs didn’t finish higher than fourth, which came at the 2023 Bank of America Roval 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The racer fared much better in 2024, securing eight top-five results, the majority of them coming before the end of the season. However, as is the case with any young driver, inconsistency was a recurring issue for Gibbs in 2024, even though he made it to the playoffs after accumulating enough points.

At a team like Joe Gibbs Racing, being able to make it to the Round of 16 isn’t enough. While he has the backing of his grandfather, Ty Gibbs will want to prove that he has earned his seat in the NASCAR Cup Series. After a steady improvement in the competition, it feels like it’s only a matter of time before the 22-year-old secures his first win at the highest level, which may propel him to even greater heights going forward. Even though there is plenty of uncertainty going into 2025, the driver will hope that he builds a good rapport with Tyler Allen to achieve success on the racetrack.

Tyler Allen outlines expectations for 2025

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He may not have crew chief experience in the Cup Series, but Tyler Allen has been there, and done that. He worked atop the pit box for the No. 20 Xfinity Series car in 2024, helping his team win eight races along with a runner-up finish in the owner’s standings. Allen has also worked as a race engineer for Adam Stevens and was part of Kyle Busch’s 2019 championship-winning team. Having tasted success as part of Rowdy’s No. 18 Toyota crew, will he be able to replicate these results for Ty Gibbs in 2025?

Highlighting his expectations, Allen said, “It’s an honor to be named crew chief for Ty Gibbs and the 54 team as we head into the 2025 season. This opportunity has been a dream of mine since starting here at JGR 10 years ago, and I’m thankful for the support and guidance I’ve received from my mentors, teammates, and everyone along the way. Ty has shown a lot of speed and potential the last two years, and I look forward to building on that experience to get the No.54 car in victory lane.”

The decision is somewhat of a gamble for Joe Gibbs Racing. Given Allen’s inexperience, is he the right candidate to replace Chris Gayle as crew chief? Time will tell. It’s not the first time the duo have teamed up, as Allen served as Ty Gibbs’ crew chief in an Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Despite finishing on the pole during qualifying and leading 27 laps, the racer was forced to contend with a ninth-place finish at the 2024 BetMGM 300, which was his only appearance in the competition this year.

Allen opened up on his relationship with Ty Gibbs.”You know, this is work. We met today and talked about a bunch of things, but these are our careers and it’s definitely a professional relationship. And I think overtime that that will grow into a more personal and good friendship, overall. We’re here to go to work, we’re here to win races and I think we’re both on the same page with that.” JGR’s changes are aplenty and Ty Gibbs would be hoping he is on the right end of these changes.

Do you think Ty Gibbs can challenge for the championship in 2025? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!