Ty Gibbs was slated to compete in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but the rains came and washed out the Alsco Uniforms 300. The reigning champion in the Xfinity Series, where he rolled into victory lane seven times in 2022, Gibbs will have to wait until Monday afternoon at Charlotte to climb back into the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Gibbs will now change his mindset to focus on today’s Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Cup Series race at the 1.5-mile speedway. Currently in a holding pattern as rain still continues to fall in Charlotte, Gibbs took the time to talk about his current place in the grand scheme of all things Charlotte during the next 24 hours.
“It should be a good couple of days,” he said. “I think our cars will be really fast. I’m racing the Xfinity car and the Cup car, so there will be a lot of seat time there.”
Gibbs comes off a ninth place finish at last weekend’s NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro.
“I actually really enjoyed that race,” related Gibbs. “Hopefully, they leave the track the same and we can go back and race there. I really enjoyed racing on that old surface. It was fun and I think there was a lot of character in it.”
Gibbs is also keen to climb back into an Xfinity Series car, something he has not done since racing to a third-place finish at Circuit of The Americas last March.
“Yeah, I think it’s been eight months now since the last time I’ve been in an Xfinity car on an oval,” noted Gibbs, who last ran in an Xfinity oval race at Phoenix last November (which he won). “I’m really excited about it for Monday. It should be a good time and hopefully we can have a good run and go win it. That would be awesome.”
How different are the feelings Gibbs experiences in both cars? Do they compare?
“Yeah, it’s like a moped to a 450 supercross bike,” mused Gibbs. “They’re different. There’s so much difference in the cars and the way that they are. And the horsepower is so much different. I mean, it’s like a hockey swing compared to a golf swing. It’s just so different.
“And with racecraft, the Cup series is definitely a lot different. People are a lot more mature and understanding in the Cup Series than the Xfinity series. The Xfinity Series is more aggressive. It’s like everybody is racing for their job and also racing against a top level, so I feel like there is a lot to prove and that usually makes everybody race more aggressively in the Xfinity Series. It’s been really fun. I’ve really enjoyed my Cup experience. I’ve been able to go to Cup with Monster Energy and that is super-special and it’s just a great time.
“I’ve enjoyed my run in Cup so far. I think we’ve been really fast and it will definitely be nice to get a win. We’ve been close and we’ll just keep rolling. We’ve had a couple good runs. Dover and Kansas were probably going to be pretty good runs and we had some issues and then I’ve taken myself out with some mistakes, so it is just learning and working at getting better and better.”
Gibbs and crew chief Chris Gayle are pleased with the speed of the No. 54 car, but need to focus on race execution.
“That’s 100-percent correct,” said Gibbs. “This teamwork is consistent and disciplined and they are making the right decisions when I need to make the right decisions. That’s the biggest thing. It definitely has its challenges. I’ve enjoyed my experience so far and being in the Cup series is awesome. We just want to keep doing the best that we can.”
And Gibbs believes that he is still very early on in what is the trajectory arc of his NASCAR Cup learning curve.
“It is a learning process We’ll just keep knocking on the door and I’m sure that we’ll have a shot to win. I feel like our cars are good enough, I just have to do my job. 1oo-percent I enjoy this. I’m a racer and more time in the car is better for me. I’m definitely going to have my rest periods, but being able to race more and more is awesome.
“I’m really excited about all this Cup stuff. I just want to jeep working hard and going after it. I want to keep trying to win every weekend and I think that’s the process to be the best. I want to try and eliminate mistakes and go as fast as I can and work as hard as I can.”