Ty Gibbs wrecked his teammate Brandon Jones, who was in a must-win situation, on the final lap for the victory in last weekend’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Martinsville Speedway.
However, Gibbs’ success will come at a price as team owner Joe Gibbs says there will be consequences for his actions.
Joe Gibbs discusses Ty Gibbs’ actions at Martinsville Speedway
The driver of the No. 54 car has seen lots of success in his short tenure with Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series but the actions he committed on Saturday evening in Ridgeway, Virginia were not acceptable.
Joe Gibbs spoke about Ty Gibbs’ actions on the race track and what is next for the young driver.
“Yeah, I think what’s happened there is we’re working through all of that. There’s a lot to it. We’re trying to — as a family and as a race team family, we’re trying to work through every single part of that. We’re still going through it, because it isn’t easy, everything that happened. When tough things happen, and certainly nobody wanted that to happen, I said, now there’s consequences, and so we’re trying to walk through those with (Ty Gibbs). I was also there, and so I think a lot about that, too. There’s things that I could have done a better job of.”
Joe Gibbs on Ty Gibbs’ wrecking Brandon Jones
It is clear that no one is happy within the organization about Gibbs’ move at Martinsville Speedway. Instead of two Joe Gibbs Racing cars and two JR Motorsports cars in the Championship 4, it is Gibbs versus three JR Motorsports drivers.
Plus, the factor of Jones not being in the Championship 4 also includes a loss of money. The move itself has directly impacted the organization’s ability to win a championship and earn bonus money compared to its competitors.
It is rare enough for a driver locked into the Championship 4 to dump a driver in a must-win situation at the end of an event. It’s an even worse look when the driver that is dumped comes from the same organization and manufacturer.
Gibbs is aware that consequences might come his way and he talked about it during Championship 4 media availability for the Xfinity Series on Thursday afternoon.
Related: Noah Gragson voices his strong opinion on Ty Gibbs
Ty Gibbs could potentially face severe consequences that affect his future
In the moments after dumping Jones, the driver of the No. 54 car was excited as he did a burnout down the straightaway, got out of his car to a rain of boos, and proceeded to celebrate his victory at Martinsville.
However, that tune changed after a few days when Gibbs spoke to the media and when asked about the potential consequences he might face, he was acceptive of what might happen.
“I do not and you know, I wasn’t a part of those conversations but I accept the actions and you know, accept what I did and what there is to come.”
Ty Gibbs on whether he knows his consequences yet
Gibbs has accepted that his actions on Saturday night were incorrect and that it made lots of people within NASCAR lose respect for him moving forward. However, he will be able to earn it back eventually.
When asked if Joe Gibbs Racing could decide to not move him up next season due to his actions, Gibbs had this to say about the situation.
“I don’t know. I don’t know what the future holds. And I don’t really know, but what I did was unacceptable. I think I lost respect from a bunch of people. And you know, the only thing I do now is turn it back and to learn from it.”
Ty Gibbs on if this impacts his chances of a Cup ride in 2023
Gibbs was expected to replace Busch in the No. 18 car for the organization’s NASCAR Cup Series program next eason but could those plans change after his actions?
That would certainly send a wake-up call to the 20-year-old driver but it might seem over the top if Joe Gibbs Racing doesn’t have another driver on their radar moving forward.
Either way, there will be consequences for Gibbs’ actions and they could be pretty severe. If not, it’s a reminder that these potential consequences would not come from NASCAR, they would come from the organization itself.
For the time being, Gibbs is going to chase an Xfinity Series championship at Phoenix Raceway and one thing is guaranteed. It will not come easy.