While Ty Gibbs‘ talent is undeniable, he has not been doing himself any favours with his driving style. Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Martinsville Speedway did little to assuage that reputation when he broke the cardinal rule of wrecking his team-mate for the win.
Joe Gibbs Racing team-mate Brandon Jones needed to win to advance to the Championship Round, and was leading when the final lap began. Gibbs, who was already locked into the last round on points, decided to go for the win anyway and gave Jones a bump in turn one, causing him to spin into the wall. As Gibbs took the checkered flag, Jones was unceremoniously classified twenty-third and eliminated from the playoffs.
Gibbs was promptly booed by the fans and roundly criticised by fans and peers. While he has established himself as a racing prodigy with ten Xfinity Series wins at the age of twenty, racing for his grandfather’s team and his on-track conduct—the latter of which already resulted in fines at both the Cup and Xfinity levels—have turned him into an increasingly unpopular figure.
“Jesus was hated first and among all the people. That’s a part of it,” said Gibbs, an outspoken Christian, about the boos. “Just silencing out the crowd, I feel like that’s what you have to do as a professional athlete and some of the best people are going to get booed. You can’t let all those opinions drive your actions and make you feel bad or anything. It’s just part of life. If I did let them eat me up, then I would be weak on my part.
“There’s definitely things to learn. There are situations where you have to learn from. You might be able to let it eat you up just a little bit just so you learn from it. Same stuff like what happened at Texas and stuff like that, even earlier this year when I got in a scuffle (coincidentally, also at Martinsville). There’s just some stuff that you might let get it to you just so you can learn from, but besides that, it’s wins are wins and you can’t let it get to you.”
Jones’ elimination allows JR Motorsports‘ Justin Allgaier to reach the Championship Round. With Noah Gragson and Josh Berry also having qualified, Gibbs is the lone non-JRM driver of the final four. Ironically, Jones will join JRM in 2023, leading many to quip that Gibbs must defeat four JRM drivers if he wants to win the title.
“I love everyone on this #19 team, but I’m excited to make my move to JRM next year and be a part of that organisation and a little bit more respect over there probably,” said Jones.
“I have no words. I know that we had some fun beating and banging back and forth a little bit but I’ve never wrecked him or anything for a win. It just kind of shows where that level was there.
“I think it opened up the opportunity to get moved, but I don’t know about dumped and destroyed and finish dead last. I guess at the end the day, I needed to win the race, so I think for second to last, it is what it is. Just expected to maybe have a little bit more of a shot at it there. I think that to me, that’s what’s fun in this sport is having a duel and not just completely destroying somebody’s day.”
The Gibbs/Jones saga dominated the storylines but was not the only post-race drama as Austin Hill and Myatt Snider traded fisticuffs after an argument. Jeb Burton and Rajah Caruth also exchanged words, though they left on amicable terms.
To quote Denny Hamlin’s imitation of Joey Logano, that’s short track racing.
Race results
| Finish | Start | Number | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 4 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 269 | Running |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 269 | Running |
| 3 | 8 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 269 | Running |
| 4 | 5 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 269 | Running |
| 5 | 6 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 269 | Running |
| 6 | 22 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 269 | Running |
| 7 | 24 | 48 | Nicholas Sanchez | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 269 | Running |
| 8 | 37 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 269 | Running |
| 9 | 36 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 269 | Running |
| 10 | 23 | 02 | Blaine Perkins* | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 269 | Running |
| 11 | 11 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 269 | Running |
| 12 | 18 | 44 | Rajah Caruth* | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 269 | Running |
| 13 | 21 | 36 | Alex Labbé | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 269 | Running |
| 14 | 14 | 31 | Myatt Snider | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 269 | Running |
| 15 | 15 | 26 | Derek Griffith | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 269 | Running |
| 16 | 9 | 16 | A.J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 269 | Running |
| 17 | 10 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 269 | Running |
| 18 | 3 | 18 | Sammy Smith^ | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 269 | Running |
| 19 | 27 | 08 | Brandon Brown | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 269 | Running |
| 20 | 13 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 269 | Running |
| 21 | 7 | 23 | Anthony Alfredo | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 269 | Running |
| 22 | 33 | 92 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 269 | Running |
| 23 | 1 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 269 | Running |
| 24 | 34 | 38 | C.J. McLaughlin | RSS Racing | Ford | 268 | Running |
| 25 | 32 | 91 | Mason Massey | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 265 | Running |
| 26 | 31 | 68 | Kris Wright* | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 261 | Running |
| 27 | 12 | 07 | Joe Graf Jr. | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 260 | Running |
| 28 | 19 | 45 | Howie DiSavino III | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 259 | Running |
| 29 | 29 | 6 | Ryan Vargas | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 248 | Running |
| 30 | 38 | 34 | Kyle Weatherman | Jesse Iwuji Motorsports | Chevrolet | 242 | Accident |
| 31 | 25 | 78 | Stefan Parsons* | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 219 | Accident |
| 32 | 30 | 35 | Patrick Emerling | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Chevrolet | 215 | Accident |
| 33 | 17 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 206 | Accident |
| 34 | 28 | 66 | J.J. Yeley | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 176 | Brakes |
| 35 | 26 | 5 | Matt Mills* | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 145 | Engine |
| 36 | 35 | 13 | Chad Finchum | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 137 | Brakes |
| 37 | 16 | 10 | Landon Cassill | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 108 | Accident |
| 38 | 20 | 4 | Bayley Currey | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 55 | Accident |
| DNQ | 47 | Dawson Cram | Mike Harmon Racing | Chevrolet | |||
| DNQ | 77 | Ronnie Bassett Jr. | Bassett Racing | Chevrolet |
^ – Competing in owner playoffs
Underline – Eliminated from playoffs
Italics – Competing for Rookie of the Year
* – Ineligible for points