NASCAR: The driver who benefited from Ty Gibbs’ move

Ty Gibbs wrecked Brandon Jones and denied him a spot in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4, but one driver had to have at least somewhat enjoyed the outcome.

Much of the focus after Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Martinsville Speedway was on Ty Gibbs, who won the round of 8 finale after wrecking Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Brandon Jones out of the lead on the final lap.

Gibbs had already locked himself into the Championship 4 on points. JR Motorsports teammates Josh Berry and Noah Gragson had already clinched their spots by winning the round of 8’s first two races, making Gibbs the third driver to secure a spot and leaving just one spot open.

With Jones leading the race on the final lap, he was well-positioned to advance to the Championship 4 for the first time in his career.

But Gibbs wrecked him.

The 20-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina native has a history of making controversial moves, and he is one of the most heavily criticized drivers in the sport because of it.

Add to that the fact that he has long been seen as a kid “born with a silver spoon in his mouth” as the grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, and it’s not hard to see why he is a lot more disliked than most.

While Gibbs certainly had the right to challenge for the win, despite the fact that he was already locked in and Jones was not, you wouldn’t generally expect a driver not in a must-win situation to wreck a teammate, knowing he couldn’t earn the win by actually racing. At that point, why bother?

But one thing that has effectively been flying under the radar is who made out quite well because of this move.

Had this situation not transpired the way it did, JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier would not be Championship 4-bound for the fifth time in the last seven years, and it would have marked the first time he missed the Championship 4 in consecutive years since the format was added to the Xfinity Series in 2016.

JR Motorsports now have three chances to win the title compared to Ty Gibbs Racing’s (as some now call it) one, while it would have been two against two had Gibbs not made the move he made.

Allgaier is a two-time winner at Phoenix Raceway, having won there in March 2017 and November 2019. He has the opportunity to be crowned champion for the first time in his career because of what Gibbs did.

While he expressed support for Jones after what happened, now he has a golden opportunity to take full advantage.

In 11 seasons as a full-time Xfinity Series driver, Allgaier has never finished worse than seventh place in the championship standings. He has finished everywhere in the top seven, except for first.

Thanks to Gibbs, that could change this weekend.

The highest finishing driver of the four championship contenders — Berry, Gragson, Gibbs, and Allgaier — is set to be crowned 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion. The season finale is set to be broadcast live from Phoenix Raceway on USA Network beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET this Saturday, November 5. If you haven’t yet done so, begin a free trial of FuboTV now!