While Denny Hamlin isn’t exactly known for his dirt racing skills, the rest of the Joe Gibbs Racing team? They’re all in on it. With Chase Briscoe joining the team in 2025 and Christopher Bell champing at the bit to jump into a midget car, Joe Gibbs finally lifted the infamous “no racing outside the Cup” ban. And that meant even Ty Gibbs couldn’t resist the call to try his hand on the dirt as well.

Starting out in karts and working his way up through Late Models, ARCA, and Xfinity, Ty has been laser-focused on stock cars, but dirt racing? That was uncharted territory. So, where better to dive in than the legendary Chili Bowl? But, as you might expect, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Recently, Ty opened up about what it was like.

Ty Gibbs is taking baby steps in the Chili Bowl

While Ty might not have the dirt racing experience of the surrounding veterans, he was still soaking it all in with a huge grin on his face. Thanks to advice from multiple-time Chili Bowl champs like Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson, Ty was feeling good about the experience.

He said, “I love racing. I’m a fan of it, but also being able to drive it, I’m very proud and happy to do that, so a lot of smiles, and Christopher (Bell) been really helpful to me, and Kyle (Larson) helped me out, too. So this has been, it’s just so fun, and it’s cool to see, you know, this world kind of welcoming me into it is really cool. I feel thankful for that, so I’m just having a fun time.”

In a recent preliminary race, Ty Gibbs finished 9th, and afterward, he chatted with Motorsports journalist Matt Weaver about his experience. It was clear: he was learning a lot but also realizing how challenging it really is.

He admitted, “I had a ton of fun tonight, and learned a lot. It’s fun running on the track. I learned enough. Then after 6 laps, 5 laps of where I need to be, kind of get comfortable with running where it’s curved up on top. But then I have three laps to go. I’m stretched out with the guy in front of me. It’s just really hard, really fast-paced. Also, with time, the experience will help and can’t wait for the future.”

No one expects Ty to walk away with the golden driller trophy on his first try, and that’s not the point. During his initial visits to the Chili Bowl, he focuses on familiarizing himself with the craft, getting accustomed to the track, and above all, enjoying the experience. Based on his quick learning curve in the Cup Series, there’s no doubt he’ll be back more times with added experience.

And to make things easy for himself, he’s drawn comparisons with stock car racing. And technically, it’s not his first midget race.

Ty Gibbs putting his limited experience to full use

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Before the Chili Bowl, Ty had already dipped his toes into midget racing at the Turkey Night Grand Prix in Ventura, California. That was his USAC National Midget debut, and it gave him a taste of what dirt racing was all about.

Post which he shared, “Yeah, it was really fun. Luckily I got to spend time getting ready for this race and having a little bit more time. It was just my second midget race and the last time I was done it was in Ventura […] It seems like it’s really fun, and I had a blast. I had so much fun. We didn’t get that many laps, but it’s pretty similar to how the cup stuff is.”

And about adapting to midget cars, Ty kept things simple. He just thought of everything in terms of what he knew, only smaller: “So everything is short now, but you just got to make the best of it. I had a lot of fun. I felt comfortable, so just need to get faster and get better and always can be better. So I’m really having fun out here.”

How does it feel seeing Ty Gibbs so happy and excited at the Chili Bowl? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!