There is always going to be a certain level of compartmentalization required, as a professional athlete, to perform at the highest level possible. Over the last three weeks, Ty Gibbs has executed that perfectly.
In fact, Gibbs, 23, is on a career-high streak of three consecutive top-five results in the NASCAR Cup Series — finishing fourth at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), fourth at Phoenix Raceway, and fifth on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
It can’t be an easy thing, either. There’s been a lot made about how Gibbs, entering his fourth full-time campaign in the NASCAR Cup Series as a driver for the championship-winning organization Joe Gibbs Racing, hasn’t yet made it to Victory Lane.
Now, just to add another layer of adversity onto the shoulders of the former NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion, Gibbs has seen his name appear several times in an ongoing lawsuit between JGR and former Competition Director, Chris Gabehart, and it hasn’t exactly painted him in the best light.
It’s clearly not getting to him, though, evidenced by the tongue-in-cheek comment from Gibbs post-race at Phoenix, saying that he’s “with the right guys,” alluding to the departure of Gabehart in the off-season.
After a tough campaign in 2025, where Gibbs finished a career-low 19th in NASCAR Cup Series point standings, a strong start to the new season is a welcome sight, especially as the new-old ‘Chase’ format returns.
To record a top-five result on Sunday, after the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE was busted for speeding on pit road at the end of Stage 1, showed a level of maturity that indicates Gibbs could be looking at a breakthrough first NASCAR Cup Series victory sooner rather than later.
“Yeah, unfortunately, I sped, and Denny [Hamlin] sped,” Gibbs told FOX Sports post-race. “But I just wasn’t as fast as Denny was to get through the field.”
Hamlin, who also got a speeding penalty at the end of the first stage, was able to drive through the pack to collect his 61st NASCAR Cup Series victory, and his second straight win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Before getting the pit road speeding penalty at the end of the first stage, Gibbs looked like a legitimate top-five contender, battling with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates at the front of the pack.
It’s yet another story of what could have been for Gibbs and the No. 54 team, as, without that pit road penalty early in Sunday’s event, there’s a good chance that second-year crew chief Tyler Allen would have been able to keep the team in the running.
“I think [we’re] just getting better as a team and getting closer, in a lot of aspects, I wouldn’t name just one,” Gibbs said regarding the improvement of the No. 54 to start the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series campaign.
Following the events of this past weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the fifth race of the 26-race regular season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Gibbs sits inside the top-10 in point standings, with a 23-point advantage over the cutline.
Only time will tell if this positive momentum continues for Gibbs and the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry XSE team, but if it does, it wouldn’t be a shock at all to see the grandson of Coach Joe Gibbs in Victory Lane for the first time, quite soon.
