NASCAR: Are we watching the downfall of Joe Gibbs Racing?

Joe Gibbs Racing have experienced a hectic 2022 NASCAR season. Will this offseason be the downfall of the premier Toyota organization?

Joe Gibbs Racing’s 2022 NASCAR season hasn’t exactly gone according to plan. While Christopher Bell is in the Cup Series Championship 4 and Ty Gibbs is in the Xfinity Series Championship 4, the team will see their most successful driver leave for greener pastures and be replaced by a driver who may already be public enemy number one in the sport.

Kyle Busch, who won two Cup Series championships with Joe Gibbs Racing, is set to pilot the #8 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing (RCR) next year. His replacement is set to be Gibbs, though that hasn’t yet been confirmed.

Ty, the grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, has made his name known among NASCAR drivers, teams, and fans this year, but for all the wrong reasons. His first full-time season in the Xfinity Series started off strong, but he began to cement his reputation as a dirty driver following incidents with Ryan Sieg, John Hunter Nemechek, and Sam Mayer.

The 20-year-old fully cemented that reputation when he dumped teammate Brandon Jones for the lead on the final lap Martinsville Speedway, when Jones needed a win to advance to the Championship 4. Instead of two Joe Gibbs Racing drivers advancing to the championship race, there are now three JR Motorsports drivers and just one Joe Gibbs Racing driver.

But one driver doesn’t make a team, and what happens now could play into Joe Gibbs Racing’s downfall.

When Gibbs is inevitably announced to the #18 Toyota as Busch’s replacement, he’ll join Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, and Bell. Truex already hinted at retiring, and Hamlin has effectively already started his post-racing career with his ownership in 23XI Racing.

The future at JGR is extremely uncertain, and with Truex not committed beyond 2023, Busch might not be the only big-name departure the team will have to worry about, potentially leaving another vacant seat.

With Gibbs’ move to the Cup Series and Jones’ move to JR Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing will have to find at least one more full-time driver for their Xfinity Series team. John Hunter Nemechek seems to be the most likely candidate, and he could even be considered a potential replacement for Truex when he retires.

Regardless, the team will lack chemistry when things are not one for all and all for one, which has seemed to be the case on the Xfinity Series side. Carrying that style of driving over to the Cup Series side won’t be advantageous.

With a star gone and major question marks surrounding their future, is this the beginning of Joe Gibbs Racing’s downfall?

One thing is for certain. Joe Gibbs Racing will be around as long as Joe Gibbs is in charge. While it might have simply been the obvious move after M&M’s made the decision to no longer sponsor the team, Gibbs found a way to get a new driver into the #18 Toyota.

It raises questions regarding how hard the team actually tried to keep Busch, but they moved on and never had to think about downsizing.

But there seems to be concern about sponsorship as a whole, not just for the #18 Toyota, if and when Gibbs walks away himself, and/or hands down the company.

The five-time Cup Series championship-winning organization will be around for years to come, but the direction in which they’re heading doesn’t seem to be a promising one like it did in 2008 when they signed Busch. Instead, it looks like it’s the opposite.