NASCAR: 5 drivers who will make huge improvements in 2024
By Asher Fair
4. Ty Gibbs
Ty Gibbs is a prime breakout candidate for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season. After nearly making the playoffs on points in his rookie season with his grandfather's Joe Gibbs Racing team, he is poised for bigger and better things in year number two behind the wheel of the No. 54 Toyota.
While he didn't win any races, there were a number of events in which he was a contender late, and his frequency in regard to running at the front greatly increased as the year went on and he became more comfortable competing at the Cup level. When it was all said and done, he actually finished inside the top 16 in total points scored.
The one downside of Gibbs' rookie season is that he was the only one of Joe Gibbs Racing's four drivers who didn't make it to the playoffs. That probably isn't going to fly two years in a row, even as the boss's grandson. The upside? All three of those drivers made it to the round of 8, so the speed is certainly there for Gibbs to do the same as he continues to acclimate.
And while Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. are the two veterans at Joe Gibbs Racing, the only driver to make it to either one of the last two Championship 4 rounds is Christopher Bell, who only joined the team in 2021. He made it to both. Can Gibbs add to the youth movement trend with a few wins and a deep playoff run of his own?