The No. 54 winning in the Xfinity Series is nothing new thanks to Kyle Busch, but there was a different, younger name above the door on Saturday night.
Ty Gibbs, the 18-year-old grandson of Joe Gibbs, put on a performance of fairy tale to claim his first career Xfinity Series win in his first career start.
Coach Gibbs had an emotional interview immediately following the race.
"A dream come true for our family."- Coach Joe Gibbs after watching his grandson win on the Daytona Road Course@TyGibbs_ | @JoeGibbsRacing pic.twitter.com/RWKYZ9VxqZ
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 21, 2021
The young Gibbs, overcome with emotion, fell to his knees in the Daytona infield after his car got stuck during his victory celebration.
What it means for @TyGibbs_ and the rest of the Gibbs family. pic.twitter.com/i7yoSaGNuK
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) February 21, 2021
That emotion spilled over into the post-race interview where Gibbs fought back tears when speaking with FOX Sports.
"This is just amazing … this is a dream come true."
An emotional @TyGibbs_ talks with @JamieLittleTV after capturing a win in his NASCAR Xfinity debut at Daytona. pic.twitter.com/h8lCfcrvI7
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 21, 2021
“Family is everything to me,” Gibbs said. “They do so much for me and I can’t thank them enough… this is just amazing.”
Gibbs controlled much of the latter part of the race before a caution came out, sending the race into overtime. Gibbs had two powerful restarts and fought off teammate Brandon Jones for his first career win.
Going into NASCAR overtime, Myatt Snider and Ryan Sieg rolled off the front row, eyeing their first win. After Sieg went wide coming out of Turn 1, the field bunched up heading into Turn 3, sending multiple cars into the grass and setting up another round of overtime.
In the second round, Gibbs went full-send into Turn 1, nearly taking out his teammate Jones in the process. After moving past Jones, Gibbs set his sights forward with a damaged Cindric waiting behind him. Cindric couldn’t get close enough to challenge, handing Gibbs the win.
Gibbs won Stage 2, while Cindric, who came home second, got the Stage 1 victory but not in a shocking style after Allmendinger got turned coming to the green-checkered.
Gibbs is contending for Sunoco Rookie Of The Year in the Xfinity Series and also competing full-time for the ARCA Menards Series championship. He will run a part-time effort in Xfinity this season. So far, the 18-year-old is 1-for-1.
For all results, standings, stats and recaps from Saturday’s Xfinity Series race, head to the Super Start Batteries 188 Race Information Page:
“This Is a Dream Come True” – Ty Gibbs Wins First Career Xfinity Series Start
