After the first half of the regular season that Ty Gibbs has had, a third-place finish at Michigan International Speedway should probably feel (at least) adjacent to a victory.
In the situation that Gibbs is currently in (being 27th in points entering Sunday’s event at Michigan), an actual victory is the only thing that will lock the driver of the No. 54 Toyota Camry XSE into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
So, although Sunday’s result matched a season-best from Bristol Motor Speedway, the 22-year-old driver remains frustrated, as he continues to search for his first NASCAR Cup Series win, 102 starts into his tenure with Joe Gibbs Racing.
“It’s just unfortunate because I feel like we had the capability to go do it,” Gibbs said post-race. “I feel like we showed we were fast enough to go do it. It’s definitely frustrating, but it’s just part of it sometimes.”
After starting eighth, Gibbs looked as though he had a car capable of running inside the top-10, until the No. 54 dropped off significantly as the run progressed, falling from inside the top-10 to almost outside the top-30.
As the laps clicked off, the Charlotte, North Carolina-native was able to start recovering from the early-race stumble and made it closer to the front of the pack, until the final run of the race.
Gibbs then surged into the top-five and quickly pressured the race leaders, who at the time appeared to be saving fuel in hopes of making it to the end. The No. 54 got to the lead draft and was just hanging out, in hopes of living to fight until the end of the race.
“I was going to go until we were going to run out of fuel. I didn’t run out of fuel yet. That was my plan,” Gibbs said. “I think a win is more important than third.”
As Denny Hamlin, a teammate of Gibbs’, made the pass for the race lead and ultimately the victory over William Byron, and began to drive away, a shot at the victory just whittled away in the closing laps.
“It’s good to have a good finish, for sure. Good to have a good day, a good comeback,” Gibbs added. “We started off just very horrible. Glad we could come back and got better. Thanks to my team for sticking behind me.”
Asked if he’ll go back and check the fuel tank of his Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE after the race, Gibbs said: “It doesn’t matter, but it does matter that we finished good. I definitely seem upset, because I am. We work hard to come out here and come win. It’s definitely frustrating.”
With the solid result in Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400, Gibbs jumps from 27th to 24th in NASCAR Cup Series point standings, and currently sits 52 points below the cutline for the NASCAR Playoffs.
Michigan International Speedway (MIS) has quietly become one of the best tracks for Gibbs on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit. In four starts at the two-mile racetrack, Gibbs has no finish worse than 11th and a pair of third-place finishes.
Next, Gibbs will head to Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez for the first NASCAR Cup Series event in Mexico. The driver of the No. 54 has shown road course prowess in the past, so could Sunday’s groundbreaking finally be the notable first victory for the up-and-coming racer?
