(Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — With two races remaining in the regular season, Ty Gibbs isn’t in the position that he hoped for.
After Michigan International Speedway two weeks ago, Gibbs held the final playoff spot on the provisional grid by three points over Michael McDowell. But after dominating victory and a day where Gibbs dealt with adversity at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, Gibbs dropped to 18th in points and 49 points below the cutline.
Gibbs qualified 10th at Indy but got spun on the only restart early in the race with help from Shane van Gisbergen. The 20-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing driver powered back through the field to come home 12th, but it took away from an afternoon that had so much potential.
“I was just a little frustrated knowing that [Joey Logano] kind of blasted in the corner there and it the guys in front of him, created kind of a domino effect,” Gibbs said at Watkins Glen International on Saturday. “It really kind of hurt our chances a little bit.
“I was actually happy with myself driving from the back to 12th and we didn’t have a caution, so that was nice, but wasn’t what we were looking for.
“I don’t really believe in driving off of emotion. I don’t think you get a lot done with it. I think it’s just being well-prepared and understanding what’s going on in the race and understanding of being very consistent in the car and hitting your marks.”
After making 15 starts for 23XI Racing last year in place of the injured Kurt Busch, Gibbs is set for Cup Series start No. 40 at Watkins Glen on Sunday. He’s recorded a top five and six top 10s in his first season behind the No. 54 Toyota Camry, averaging a finish of 18th, which is 4.9 spots better than his clip in 2022.
However, the key for Gibbs has been execution. His average running position is 16.3, which is nearly two spots better than where he finishes. He finished 11th at Michigan two weeks ago and 15th at Richmond Raceway the week before that. One year removed from his series debut at Pocono Raceway, Gibbs scored the lone top five.
(Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)
“I think just a lack of execution on my part,” Gibbs explained. “We’ve had great cars, great pit stops. I think it just comes down to me being somewhat of a rookie again and having to be better in a lot of different situations.”
Gibbs admitted that he’ll likely need to win one of the two regular-season races to make the playoffs or have strong points days at the very least.
But Gibbs has confidence going into Watkins Glen, a place where he’s turned plenty of laps. He previously competed in Trans-Am at The Glen and won in his first Xfinity race at the track in 2021. Last year, he spun with William Byron late while competing for the win in his championship season.
If Gibbs wins, he’d become the fifth driver to win his first Cup race at Watkins Glen and the first since Chase Elliott in 2018.
“This is a really fast road course,” Gibbs said. “Last weekend was really a slower road course and more technical, too. So it’s a little bit different, but I think if you are being consistent and hitting your marks the right way and you hit them every lap, it’s the same.
“It’s a special track to me. I always love Watkins Glen and I think it’d be a good weekend to win a Cup race and an Xfinity race.”
