Besides being perhaps the hottest young prospect in NASCAR today, Ty Gibbs has developed a reputation for his rather aggressive driving. Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Richmond Raceway did little to dispel that notion as he pushed Joe Gibbs Racing team-mate John Hunter Nemechek aside in the final corner to win his third race of the season.
The 19-year-old Gibbs, already a six-time race winner entering Richmond, won the pole while Nemechek, a Camping World Truck Series regular, joined him on the front row. The two JGR drivers battled for the lead throughout the entire race and traded the position seven times. By the checkered flag, JR Motorsports‘ Josh Berry was the only driver besides the two to lead a lap as he had a single circuit led under caution between the first and second stages. Nemechek won Stage #1 while Gibbs claimed the second.
Gibbs dominated Stage #3 before Nemechek passed him with four laps remaining. However, Gibbs was not going to relent for his team-mate, especially a part-timer who is not eligible for Xfinity points. After taking the white flag, Gibbs caught Nemechek and gave him multiple bumps from behind in the first two corners. Approaching turns three and four, Gibbs dove to the inside and made contact with Nemechek that sent him wide. Gibbs cleared Nemechek as they exited the last turn for the victory.
“We are racing for wins and they are hard to come by, so I had to take it,” said Gibbs. “We were fighting tight all day. We just couldn’t hold the bottom. John Hunter was a little faster and we had a great race. Good for Toyota to finish 1–2. I just got in there deep and had to bump him out of the way up the track. We are short track racing.”
Nemechek was understandably less than pleased with Gibbs’ move, commenting that “he and I will settle it on Monday. I don’t want to say too much and get myself in trouble, but just got drove through. He didn’t even try to make the corner there. Racers never forget, that is for sure.”
Save for a debris caution on lap 90, the race ran completely incident free.
Race results
| Finish | Start | Number | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 1 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 250 | Running |
| 2 | 2 | 18 | John Hunter Nemechek* | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 250 | Running |
| 3 | 11 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 4 | 9 | 16 | A.J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 5 | 24 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 250 | Running |
| 6 | 16 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 7 | 12 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 8 | 26 | 68 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 9 | 8 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 250 | Running |
| 10 | 10 | 38 | Parker Retzlaff | RSS Racing | Ford | 250 | Running |
| 11 | 38 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 12 | 19 | 23 | Anthony Alfredo | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 13 | 5 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 250 | Running |
| 14 | 14 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 15 | 36 | 10 | Landon Cassill | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 16 | 6 | 5 | Ryan Preece* | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Ford | 250 | Running |
| 17 | 25 | 91 | Mason Massey | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 18 | 4 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 19 | 20 | 36 | Alex Labbé | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | Running |
| 20 | 7 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 249 | Running |
| 21 | 3 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 249 | Running |
| 22 | 13 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 249 | Running |
| 23 | 33 | 08 | David Starr | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 248 | Running |
| 24 | 22 | 44 | Rajah Caruth | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 248 | Running |
| 25 | 15 | 02 | Brett Moffitt | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 248 | Running |
| 26 | 31 | 26 | Derek Griffith | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 247 | Running |
| 27 | 23 | 78 | Josh Williams | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 247 | Running |
| 28 | 29 | 34 | Kyle Weatherman | Jesse Iwuji Motorsports | Chevrolet | 246 | Running |
| 29 | 27 | 07 | Joe Graf Jr. | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 246 | Running |
| 30 | 21 | 31 | Myatt Snider | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 246 | Running |
| 31 | 32 | 4 | Bayley Currey | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 246 | Running |
| 32 | 35 | 66 | J.J. Yeley | MBM Motorsports | Ford | 245 | Running |
| 33 | 17 | 48 | Jade Buford | Big Machine Racing Team | Chevrolet | 245 | Running |
| 34 | 37 | 35 | Joey Gase | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Ford | 245 | Running |
| 35 | 18 | 99 | Stefan Parsons | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 245 | Running |
| 36 | 28 | 6 | Ryan Vargas | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 243 | Running |
| 37 | 34 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 139 | Engine |
| 38 | 30 | 47 | Brennan Poole | Mike Harmon Racing | Chevrolet | 112 | Rear Gear |
| DNQ | 52 | Harrison Rhodes | Jimmy Means Racing | Chevrolet | |||
| DNQ | 77 | Dillon Bassett | Bassett Racing | Chevrolet | |||
| DNQ | 45 | Howie DiSavino III | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | |||
| DNQ | 55 | Matt Mills | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet |
* – Ineligible for Xfinity points