How 2024 ended: When the season began, there likely were some observers who wondered whether the young Gibbs (who turned 22 on October 4) would fall victim to a dreaded NASCAR sophomore jinx. But such was not the case for the grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, as Ty enjoyed a significantly better second season in 2024 than he did in his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2023. While Gibbs still has yet to win a Cup race, he had a strong 2024 season, including finishing the 26-race regular season in ninth place and advancing to the playoffs for the first time. Once the playoffs began, however, Gibbs was eliminated after the first round. He finished 30th or worse in the final five races of the season, including crashing out after the first lap of the season finale at Phoenix, dropping him to a disappointing 15th-place overall finish in what was still otherwise an encouraging 2024 campaign.
Best race: Gibbs had a number of strong outings, but his season and career-best finish was a runner-up showing in the season’s first of two events at Darlington Raceway in the 2024 Goodyear 400 (Race No. 13). After qualifying fourth, Gibbs tackled the track that’s billed as “Too Tough To Tame,” leading 34 of the event’s 293 laps and earning the first runner-up of his Cup career.
Other season highlights: Gibbs had a number of other strong races, including third-place finishes at Phoenix, Austin, Chicago and Michigan. What stands out among those races, as well as his runner-up at Darlington’s springtime race, was Gibbs’ ability to be a strong contender on all different types of race tracks. Known as primarily a short-track racer, he really showed his developing versatility across all types of tracks, expanding his repertoire by doing well not just at a short track (Phoenix) but also at a tough mid-sized track (Darlington), a road course (Austin), street course (Chicago) and 2-mile speedway (Michigan). One other race of note: even though he finished ninth in the Food City 500 Bristol spring race, he led a career-high 137 laps, second-highest in that race to winner and teammate Denny Hamlin’s 163 laps.
Stat to Know: If there’s one stat that really stands out, it was Gibbs’ ability to get to the front of the pack and to be comfortable there: he led 112 laps as a rookie and nearly quadrupled that with 417 laps led in 2024. All told, Gibbs improved in virtually every statistical category from his rookie season, most notably in top-five finishes. He earned four top fives in 2023, and then doubled that performance with eight top fives in 2024 — including a runner-up, four top-three finishes and three other fifth-place showings.
Quotable: “We had some good runs this year, been in contention to almost win races like Chicago and Michigan. We were close. I think we’re on our way, we just need to get better faster. (We were) not good enough, like a ‘C’ (grade), I guess. For me, 22-year-old Ty is just trying to make it happen.” – Ty Gibbs.
Looking ahead: Two things are key for Gibbs in 2025: to continue his overall improvement and to hopefully and finally earn his first NASCAR Cup Series win. He’s come close in his first 87 starts but has not been able to grab the checkered flag. As for 2025, Gibbs will have a new crew chief. Tyler Allen, who was crew chief for eight of the nine wins for JGR’s No. 20 Xfinity team this past season, will move up to the Cup Series ranks to join Gibbs. Chris Gayle, who had been Gibbs’ crew chief for his first two full-time seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series, moves over to become Denny Hamlin’s crew chief, while Chris Gabehart, Hamlin’s former crew chief, has been promoted to JGR’s director of competition.
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