NASCAR driver continues to disprove bogus claims

Ty Gibbs continues to prove his critics wrong by winning races as a part-time driver in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for his grandfather’s team.

Any time there is any sort of family connection for a NASCAR driver, especially when that connection links direction to that driver’s race team, you’ll hear screams of things like “nepotism” or “granddaddy’s money” or “silver spoon”.

Claims that certain drivers “wouldn’t be here without their last name” are often heard from critics when those drivers have success. It’s just one of those inevitabilities that comes with stock car racing at this level.

One up-and-coming driver has to deal with not only those claims, but claims that the only reason he is actually performing well is because he is gifted top-tier equipment by his namesake.

In his first career Xfinity Series start in February, Ty Gibbs secured a victory at the Daytona International Speedway road course behind the wheel of the #54 Toyota for his grandfather’s team, Joe Gibbs Racing.

Since then, Ty has competed part-time in the Xfinity Series and driven in 16 more races, and he has added three victories.

While not championship eligible, the season he has put together thus far in just 17 starts (out of 31 races) would have placed him in contention to win this year’s title, and that has led to speculation by many that he will be a full-time driver for the team in 2022.

Gibbs’s success is not limited only to the Xfinity Series; in addition to winning the Xfinity Series playoff race at Kansas Speedway on Saturday, he also secured the 2021 ARCA Menards Series championship at the venue to cap off a 10-win season (in 20 starts).

So it has never been any easier for critics and haters to hurl the aforementioned criticisms.

While there will never be a true answer, for or against, the family card (i.e. you’re never truly going to be able to prove to someone that Dale Earnhardt Jr. would have made it — or would not have made it — as Dale Smith), one thing that Gibbs continues to do is prove that he does indeed belong here.

Claims that he is only having success because of his equipment continue to be shot down by the 19-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina native himself — and through actions, not words.

There’s no doubt that Joe Gibbs Racing are at the top of the Xfinity Series and that their equipment is right up there with the best, if not the best; all three of their full-time drivers not only qualified for the playoffs but advanced to the round of 8, and Gibbs would be there up too if he had been playoff eligible.

But combined, those three drivers have zero victories in 93 starts this season.

Gibbs has four wins in less than 20% of their combined starts.

Aside from Kyle Busch, the full-time Joe Gibbs Racing Cup Series driver who went five for five in his Xfinity Series starts behind the wheel of the #54 Toyota earlier this year, Gibbs is the only multi-race winner for this top-tier team this season.

While his win rate isn’t as good as Busch’s, I’m sure he’ll take a comparison to the two-time Cup Series champion any day.

John Hunter Nemechek, a former full-time Cup Series driver who dropped down to the Truck Series to compete for Kyle Busch Motorsports this year, won one race in four starts, and Christopher Bell, a full-time Cup Series driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, went one for two.

It’s not like the team’s full-time drivers aren’t capable of winning, either. Yes, Daniel Hemric is still winless in his NASCAR career, but he has competed in multiple Xfinity Series Championship 4s before and is on pace to qualify again. You could really make the case that he is the best non-winner in NASCAR national series history.

But both Harrison Burton and Brandon Jones are, in fact, proven winners in the Xfinity Series. Burton won four races in his first season as a full-time driver last year and Jones, a four-time winner in the series, won three.

Yet in addition to winning four times this season, Gibbs has led more laps than both.

Sure, you’re never truly going to be able to prove to someone that Ty Gibbs would have made it — or would not have made it — as Ty Smith. But at this point, there’s no reason to get into any of that; his driving is doing all the talking, and that goes well beyond the team for which he competes. He is here for a reason, and he is here to stay.