NASCAR: Did Joe Gibbs Racing delete important Ty Gibbs news?

Ty Gibbs clinched a spot in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4 before the race at Martinsville Speedway ended, but did Joe Gibbs Racing remove that announcement?

Entering the final race of the round of 8 at Martinsville Speedway, two drivers had already clinched their spots in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4.

JR Motorsports’ Josh Berry won the round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and teammate Noah Gragson won the next race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

During the round of 8 finale itself, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs became the third driver to clinch a spot in the final round, doing so when he could no longer mathematically drop below the Championship 4 cut line on points, even in the event of a new winner.

It appeared as though a new winner would indeed emerge, as teammate Brandon Jones led the race on the final lap.

But as many feared he might, Gibbs wrecked him and claimed the victory for himself, leaving Jones out of the Championship 4 and opening up the fourth and final spot for JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier.

However, Joe Gibbs Racing apparently deleted a tweet announcing that Gibbs had locked himself into the Championship 4.

Of course, some have called for Gibbs to be completely removed from the Championship 4, and others have even suggested that this is what it might mean, though that is highly unlikely.

The Xfinity Series, among other verified sources, tweeted about his advancement and never deleted it, and they confirmed the Championship 4 field. Additionally, they tweeted that his win was official, thus solidifying that field.

As mentioned, even without the win, Gibbs would have been into the final round on points; he had already secured his spot before the race ended.

And even if he were to be removed from the Championship 4 field, the final spot would go to Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger, who finished the round of 8 as the first driver below the Championship 4 cut line.

So simply handing Jones, who is ironically set to join JR Motorsports next year, the final spot instead of Gibbs isn’t as easy as some would suggest, and you certainly can’t penalize Allgaier by removing him for Jones.

The highest finishing driver among the Championship 4 — Berry, Gragson, Gibbs, and Allgaier — is set to be crowned 2022 Xfinity Series champion. There is no reason to believe that list will change.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series season finale is set to broadcast live from Phoenix Raceway on USA Network beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET this Saturday, November 5. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now if you haven’t already done so!