Ty Gibbs, the 22-year-old rising star in the NASCAR Cup Series didn’t hold back after securing a strong third-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Food City 500. While expressing satisfaction with his performance, Gibbs took the opportunity to criticize NASCAR’s NextGen car and the challenges it has created for drivers on the track.
The young driver’s third-place finish marked a significant milestone in what has been an up-and-down season. After securing a top 10 result at Darlington the previous week, Gibbs carried that momentum into Bristol, where he ran consistently near the front of the pack throughout the race. His No. 54 Toyota Camry TRD showed impressive speed, allowing him to contend with veterans like Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin.
Ty Gibbs Gets Real About Racing Problems
“It was definitely a good day for us,” Gibbs told reporters after the race. “I think we’re definitely a capable team of running in the top five every weekend. It’s good to get this result and be in this position.”
But then Gibbs got to the heart of what’s bugging him and many other drivers about NASCAR’s current car.
“It’s gonna be hard to pass because everybody’s got the same exact stuff and very small adjustments,” he said. “That’s what they wanted, and now it’s kind of what we got.”
What Gibbs is talking about is pretty simple. The NextGen car was designed to make racing more equal by giving all teams identical chassis and parts from the same vendors. But that’s created a new problem, namely, that it’s really hard to pass someone when everyone basically has the same car.
Bristol has been especially tough with these new cars. The tight half-mile track usually delivers exciting bumper-to-bumper action, but drivers are finding it nearly impossible to make moves with the current setup. There’s not enough tire wear or grip to make different racing lines work, so cars often get stuck in single-file lines.
Despite his frustrations with the rules, Gibbs is showing signs of figuring things out. After a rough stretch with finishes outside the top 25 for much of last season, he’s starting to find his groove. Working with Joe Gibbs Racing’s new competition director Chris Gabehart seems to be paying off.
His back-to-back strong finishes suggest that the young driver is beginning to find his footing in the Cup Series, a promising sign for both his career and Joe Gibbs Racing’s future, even as his pointed remarks about NASCAR’s current direction continue to fuel debate about the effectiveness of the sport’s regulations.