It’s not often that a driver gets a sea of boos after winning a championship, but Ty Gibbs was the recipient of one on Saturday.
After being the centre of intense scrutiny all week for wrecking team-mate Brandon Jones at Martinsville, Gibbs continued to maintain an apologetic stance even moments after securing the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series title.
“What I did last week was unacceptable, and I apologise once again, but it was unacceptable because we could have had two shots to win this deal, and it was stupid from an organisation standpoint,” said Gibbs. “All my fault. I can sit here and tell you I’m sorry as much as I can, but it’s not going to fix it. I’ve got to fix my actions.”
While he is arguably the most unpopular NASCAR champion in recent memory, he still has a title nonetheless. The 20-year-old set the Xfinity Series on fire since his début in 2021, and a full season in 2022 bore more fruit with seven wins including the finale at Phoenix Raceway to claim the title. Gibbs is the first driver born after 2000 to win a national series title, while Joe Gibbs Racing enjoys their fourth Xfinity driver’s title and second in a row.
Due to taking out Jones, Gibbs was the lone non-JR Motorsports car in the Championship Four as he faced Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, and Noah Gragson. Gibbs won the pole and the first two stages, but Allgaier and Gragson lurked behind. Berry eventually fell out after a poor restart with 30 laps remaining caused him to hit the wall.
Allgaier assumed the lead on said restart, but surrendered the spot to Gibbs and Gragson. Although the lapped JRM car of Sam Mayer, who suffered damage in a multi-driver crash after being spun by Gibbs’ team-mate Sammy Smith, attempted to block the leader, he was unable to provide enough interference for Gragson to catch up.
Gragson, who has not been shy about disliking Gibbs and even called him a “douchebag” in his post-race interview, still congratulated him on the title with a handshake. Both will likely continue their feud in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2023 when Gragson joins Petty GMS Motorsports, while Gibbs is widely expected to replace Kyle Busch in the #18 JGR Toyota.
Race results
| Finish | Start | Number | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 1 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 200 | Running |
| 2 | 4 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 3 | 11 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 4 | 6 | 10 | Landon Cassill | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 5 | 16 | 16 | A.J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 6 | 8 | 2 | Sheldon Creed † | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 7 | 19 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 200 | Running |
| 8 | 10 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 9 | 14 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 10 | 2 | 18 | Sammy Smith | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 200 | Running |
| 11 | 5 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 200 | Running |
| 12 | 3 | 48 | Nick Sanchez | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 13 | 9 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 14 | 35 | 34 | Kyle Weatherman | Jesse Iwuji Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 15 | 30 | 36 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 16 | 21 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 17 | 37 | 44 | Rajah Caruth* | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 18 | 33 | 92 | Alex Labbé | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 19 | 20 | 4 | Bayley Currey | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 20 | 7 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 200 | Running |
| 21 | 17 | 02 | Parker Retzlaff | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 22 | 22 | 38 | Kyle Sieg † | RSS Racing | Ford | 200 | Running |
| 23 | 18 | 26 | Kaz Grala* | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 200 | Running |
| 24 | 25 | 35 | Joey Gase | Emerling-Gase Mootrsports | Toyota | 200 | Running |
| 25 | 36 | 31 | Myatt Snider | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 26 | 31 | 68 | Kris Wright* | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 27 | 28 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 28 | 15 | 45 | Stefan Parsons* | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 199 | Running |
| 29 | 26 | 6 | Brennan Poole* | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 198 | Running |
| 30 | 29 | 66 | J.J. Yeley | MBM Motorsports | Ford | 197 | Running |
| 31 | 32 | 13 | Dawson Cram | MBM Motorsports | Ford | 196 | Running |
| 32 | 24 | 78 | B.J. McLeod | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 196 | Running |
| 33 | 34 | 91 | Mason Massey | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 196 | Running |
| 34 | 13 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 195 | Running |
| 35 | 23 | 23 | Anthony Alfredo | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 194 | Running |
| 36 | 38 | 07 | Joe Graf Jr. | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 193 | Running |
| 37 | 27 | 08 | Brandon Brown | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 154 | Suspension |
| 38 | 12 | 77 | Dillon Bassett | Bassett Racing | Chevrolet | 152 | Engine |
| DNQ | 5 | Matt Mills | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet |
Underline – Championship Round driver
Italics – Rookie of the Year
† – Competed for Rookie of the Year
* – Ineligible for points