If everything is bigger in Texas, Ty Gibbs hopes his NASCAR Cup Series hot streak reaches its crescendo this weekend with his first career victory.
Gibbs is third in the championship points standings and leads the series with four top-10 finishes in five races. His average finish is 8.8, second only to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. at 8.6. Truex is a spot ahead of Gibbs in the points standings.
“It’s been great,” Gibbs said. “It’s just been really good. My team has been doing a really good job. We are working really well together. I’ve been having a lot of fun racing in the Cup Series. It’s really cool.”
Circuit of The Americas, the first road course race of the Cup Series season, is a welcome sight for the 21-year-old. He earned four road course wins in the Xfinity Series and has shown similar strength in the Cup Series so far. Last year, Gibbs finished ninth at COTA.
“We’ve been really strong,” Gibbs said. “I feel like last year, we were really good at the road courses. Indy – we were really fast, but we never got a caution again. We’ve been really good at the road courses; just have to hit it right, hit the right thing and then hopefully that will lead to more success.”
“It started on sim racing with my buddy, Austin Green,” Gibbs said about his road course speed. “He’s actually in the Xfinity Series race this weekend for his first time. We would always do those joint sessions together and practice. It could be in any different car. It could be dirt racing, asphalt racing, ovals or road courses – we were always really fast, and he was always just a little bit better than I was, so that is what helped me.
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“Studying it and then having off-seasons to do something else, and not having to race all of the time – I think those are all things that I can say led to my success on road courses. It was the Xfinity Series, not the Cup Series yet. We are still working on that.”
Gibbs qualified second Saturday afternoon at COTA, the second time he’ll start on the front row in three weeks. He entered the weekend having led 194 laps in the last two races (Phoenix Raceway and Bristol Motor Speedway).
“It’s really cool,” Gibbs said. “I’ve been going to Bristol since I was a young man. I’ve been there a lot, so to be able to lead laps like I did last year in the night race is really cool. It’s a place that is really special to me.
“It is fun to come run laps there, but at the same time, we are working hard and having fun. We are going there to do the best we can, and if we can’t do the best we can, then we are looking to finish the best that we can.”
Gibbs has six career top-five finishes in 56 starts. A second-place finish at Phoenix Raceway earlier this month was the first time he’s been the runner-up in a Cup Series event.