Sunday’s win at Iowa Speedway was just the second of Ty Gibbs’s young career, but the work that led up to taking the checkered flag had been building all season.
The 23-year-old has put up solid finishes all through the season, with 10 top-fives on the year — only points leader Denny Hamlin has more.
While the wins are what garner the most attention on a driver’s resume, Kyle Petty explained that what has impressed him most about Gibbs this year has been his consistency and maturity.
“I’ve been impressed with him all year long. Let’s not just talk short tracks, let’s talk from the time we left Daytona,” Petty said on Inside the Race this week. “I’ve been impressed with his mental attitude. He has shown up every week. He is the guy who has been the sleeper for me all year long, just finishing fourth, finishing sixth, finishing fifth. Just knocking them out.”
After a slow first pit stop in Iowa, Gibbs found himself back in the pack and needing to make up track position. The No. 54 team called for two-tire stops three different times, and those bold calls helped get them back in contention.
“Once again, we get a set back early in the race, and he doesn’t panic. He doesn’t do anything crazy,” Petty said. “He has that veteran mentality and he just drives his way back to put themselves in position.”
“To me, what they do is reminiscent of what Kevin Harvick and Rodney Childers did a few years ago. They just blue-collar you to death. They just hit their marks, they do their stuff. It’s a team effort. They get those thirds. They’ll make a third out of a sixth, or they’ll make a win out of a fifth. That’s the way this team has impressed me this year.”
Gibbs is second in the standings with three races left before the start of the Chase. His three teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing — Hamlin, Chase Briscoe and Christopher Bell — all join him in the top six. That’s a lot of tough competition for Gibbs, but with the maturity he’s already shown behind the wheel this season, he’s undeniably a contender.
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