Having posted 12 top-10 and eight top-five finishes along with two pole positions in 2024, it’s been an encouraging second full-time Cup Series season for 2022 Xfinity Series champion Ty Gibbs. That doesn’t mean he’s satisfied with it.
“I want to go win both of them if I can,” said the driver of the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry of his approach for the final two races Martinsville Speedway and Phoenix Raceway.
“Yeah, I don’t think I’m too happy about with how this year went,” said Gibbs. “I wish it was better, but we are getting better and figuring it out. It’s really hard in Cup racing as you have to be really close — and I don’t think we’ve been close enough to really execute as well. We show up a little bit slower and then we take a long time to get faster, so we are getting better and the team is learning what I need. All I do is supply them as much information that I can.
“It’s so competitive now and that’s why you have to be perfect. To go win, you have to be absolutely perfect.”
The spring race at Martinsville saw Gibbs take 19th place, a finish he was not pleased with.
“I always say that Martinsville for non-playoff guys is the worst race of the year because you get used up,” offered Gibbs with a laugh. “And I’ve been on both sides of it. In 2021 I got wrecked in that position. In 2022 I wrecked somebody out of position. It’s just the worst race of the year. I think it’s the most entertaining, but it is the worst race to just be around guys. The other guys can use you up so fast because they’re going to do it for their own good. My dad was always telling me that it was the worst race to do.
“We almost got the pole last year. We were really fast last year. I hope that we improve from the previous race. We were not too great. I hope the car gets better and we can go run really well and go have a shot to win. I would love to win before the end of the season and hammer down.”
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1428]
Third at the Phoenix race back in March, Gibbs hopes to further maintain the No. 54 momentum come the Cup visit there to close the season.
“Phoenix is a special place for me,” said Gibbs. “I won a championship there and with all that I have gone through, Phoenix is kind of sentimental to me. The track is really fun. I don’t really know what to compare it to. It’s kind of like a road course, in a way. Hopefully we will improve there just like we did at Martinsville. I think Phoenix has many of the same aspects of Martinsville. It can also be a crapshoot because it is the last race of the year. I feel like Phoenix is the same situation as Martinsville for us. We just have to improve on the previous race when we go there. We finished third there in the spring, so I think that if we can improve that we can go win it. That would be awesome. To win the last race of the year would be cool.
Musing further on the year as a whole, Gibbs said, “I feel like I’ve done a good job. We’ve had good cars and we’ve had a lot of good finishes. We’ve had a lot of top-fives and we’ve improved a lot from last year. I’ve been happy with the progress that we’ve made. We just need to get better and faster. I feel like I’ve done a good job and want to try and make the best of it.”
All things considered, Gibbs is confident in the progress he’s making.
“I feel good,” he said. “You can always get better. I think we can get better as a whole team. There is only so much that I can do, so I just try to make the best of it and learn and get experience. At the same time, I have a good time racing. I love it. I think everybody around me knows that I love racing and just try to make the best of it and see what comes my way. I want to have a good time and to try and make all the days for me, because I’ve got a great life and I try to live the best I can.
“I love the sport. I love the way that I grew up around motocross — I just love the whole atmosphere. I’ve just been so blessed in my life. There are good and bad days, but I have such a fun time with what I get to do. I wouldn’t trade my entire life for anything. All the people around me make everything so much fun. This isn’t necessarily work to me, but I really love what I get to do.”
The season may soon be over but that doesn’t mean Gibbs will be slowing down.
“The off-season is going to be really fun for me,” said Gibbs. “I’m going to do a lot of dirt racing. I really love the style of how that is. I enjoy the skill it takes to do it and I think it’s really fun. I also think I’m going to travel a lot, too. One of my friends lives in the United Kingdom and I want to go see them. I don’t like being complacent and sitting still. I guess that’s how it is when you’re 22 years old, but I enjoy always going for it.”
And what does he picture his 2025 Cup Series looking like?
“Next year I think we need to throw some stuff around and get our program better. If it’s just my team or it’s just me, we’re going to make the best of it and go hammer down and go win as many races as we can,” he said. “Hopefully go fight for a championship and go deeper in the playoffs. I think we can if we do everything the right way.
“I think the competition level here is one of the highest in any form of motorsports in the world. It’s so hard now days to go and have a clean day. Racing these guys is such a high execution. We’ll see what the world brings to me.”