NASCAR sponsor news hints at upcoming driver deal

A Friday announcement left many wondering when Joe Gibbs Racing will finally make the confirmation for which we’ve all been waiting about the 2022 NASCAR season.

Interstate Batteries announced Friday that they will continue one of the longest running partnerships in NASCAR by renewing their sponsorship deal with Joe Gibbs Racing in not only the Cup Series but the Xfinity Series.

The brand has agreed to a multi-year contract renewal that will make it the primary sponsor of Kyle Busch’s #18 Toyota for six Cup Series races as well as the primary sponsor of Ty Gibbs for three Xfinity Series races next year.

This news serves as yet another indicator that the inevitable is coming sooner rather than later.

Gibbs has not yet been confirmed at his grandfather’s Xfinity Series organization for the 2022 season, but whatever confirmation does eventually come for the youngster to land his first ride in a NASCAR national series has long been seen as a formality.

The fact that he has secured sponsorship (for an unconfirmed car) for multiple races just adds to that speculation.

The 19-year-old phenom from Charlotte, North Carolina currently competes part-time behind the wheel of the #54 Toyota for the team, and he won on debut at the Daytona International Speedway road course back in February.

He has added two more wins since then, and had he run the full schedule and been eligible to compete for a playoff spot, he would be in contention to win the championship.

Even with just 16 starts in 29 races, he is the highest ranking non-playoff driver in the point standings, having just passed the legend himself, Brandon Brown, for 13th place.

Gibbs competes full-time in the ARCA Menards Series and has been dominant, winning 10 times in 19 races and leading the championship standings with an absurd average finish of 3.1.

Two of Joe Gibbs Racing’s current three full-time Xfinity Series drivers will definitely not be back next year, and the jury is still out on the third.

Brandon Jones could return to the #19 Toyota, but Daniel Hemric is leaving the #18 Toyota to drive for Kaulig Racing in the same series while Harrison Burton is leaving the #20 Toyota to drive for Wood Brothers Racing in the Cup Series.

So there is literally no reason to believe that the grandson of the former Washington Redskins head coach won’t be competing full-time in the Xfinity Series next year.

While he has never competed full-time in the Truck Series — or even made a single Truck Series start — one would think that if the plan were for him to run full-time there first, he would be competing for the Kyle Busch Motorsports Truck Series this year instead of the Joe Gibbs Racing Xfinity Series team.

His success this season is a clear indicator of what is on the horizon, and the fact that he has already secured primary sponsorship for a Joe Gibbs Racing Xfinity Series car without even being confirmed by the team is more or less unofficial verification of what everybody has been anticipating for months now.