Ty Gibbs knows the feeling of beating Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest. (Photo: Stephen Conley | The Podium Finish)
In the words of motorsports broadcaster, Allen Bestwick, Ty Gibbs demonstrated what it means “to be so young and brave” in a lengthy Nalley Cars 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The typically excitable 19-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina native raced with patience around the 1.54-mile newly paved and higher banked asphalt arena. Despite starting fourth, Gibbs was nowhere to be seen within the top 10 finishing orders of stages 1 and 2.
Instead, the usual superspeedway contenders like Josh Berry, AJ Allmendinger, Ryan Sieg, Austin Hill and Landon Cassill showcased their prowess during the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ fifth round.
During the opening stanza at Atlanta, Berry snookered JR Motorsports teammate, Noah Gragson, to the stripe for an exciting stage 1 win. Berry’s move served as a prelude for the winning move, albeit for Gibbs and his No. 54 Sport Clips Toyota Supra team towards the end.
Stage 2 came and went with Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger besting reigning Xfinity Series champion and teammate, Daniel Hemric, to the stripe, showcasing some Daytona deja vu in the process. While Allmendinger and Hemric showcased incredible race pace, misfortunes struck Hemric in the final stage when he was involved in a turn 4 incident with Joe Graf Jr. on lap 114.
A seemingly quick Atlanta Xfinity race became a stop and go affair with spins and multi car wrecks such as the lap 154 backstretch wreck involving Sam Mayer, Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, Noah Gragson, Allmendinger, Trevor Bayne, Jeb Burton, Alex Labbe, Sage Karam, Tommy Joe Martins, Gibbs and Stefan Parsons.
Allmendinger, Burton and Gibbs pressed on, looking prime for an early Saturday evening victory at Atlanta. However, a lap 162 turn 1 tangle involving Myatt Snider and Riley Herbst and a lap 167 incident crash involving Matt Mills, Martins and Parsons in turn 1 resulted in multiple Overtime restarts.
Initially, Ryan Sieg of Tucker, Georgia appeared set on a home state win. Ultimately, he was a bit of a sitting duck as Gibbs factored into the finish with some drafting help from Allmendinger.
Gibbs, not to be denied despite the lengthy run to the finish, soaked in his second Xfinity Series win of the season with some humble perspectives.
“That was awesome,” he said. “First of all, I want to give the glory to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I want to thank Him for letting me experience these moments. Second off, my team. I wouldn’t be here without them. Thank you to AJ (Allmendinger) for pushing me. That was awesome. What the heck. This is so cool. Never give up.”
Relentless may be the best word describing Gibbs as he capitalized on a hardy push from Allmendinger on the race’s final Overtime restart. Despite being born over eight years following the loss of Aryton Senna, one of the greatest Formula 1 racers, Gibbs took his advice to heart.
“I don’t know, I just feel like naturally I do in those moments,” Gibbs offered when asked about his final lap move. “If there is a gap, you’ve got to take it like Aryton Senna said. I did it. There almost wasn’t a gap, but there was and send it.”
Gibbs, possibly feeling as flabbergasted as Bobby Labonte following his 2001 Cup fall win at Atlanta, reflected on his latest win while musing over the obstacles that he and his team overcame.
Burning down the house. (Photo: Stephen Conley | The Podium Finish)
“It was so cool to win this one,” he said. “It was so unexpected. The speedways where were we struggled in the past so to win it in this Sport Clips Toyota GR Supra shows we improved. We came back from 29th and messing up on pit road. The win is awesome. Still things that I have to fix and work on, but let’s go.”
Stage 1 Top Finishers
Berry-Gragson-Allgaier-Mayer-Bayne/Jeb Burton-Brown-Jones-Moffitt
Stage 2 Top Finishers
Allmendinger-Hemric-Buford-Martins-Karam/Creed-Brown-Hill-Jeb Burton-Cassill
Nalley Cars 250 Top 10 Finishers
Gibbs-Hill-Allmendinger-Herbst-Cassill/Massey-Jones-Weatherman-Creed-Sieg
