NASCAR
Ty Gibbs Crashes Teammate Brandon Jones on Last Lap at Martinsville
RIDGEWAY, Va. – To put it lightly, Ty Gibbs found a controversial way to make the Championship 4. After trading blows with teammate Brandon Jones on many late restarts, Gibbs did not lift entering turn one on the last lap. After leading 197 laps only to lose at Martinsville in April, Gibbs gets the Grandfather Clock after fencing Jones out of a must-win situation.
Jones and Gibbs split both Stages, as the 19 and 54 were clearly the class of the field all race long. Across a flurry of late race restarts, both Joe Gibbs Racing drivers swapped the lead back and forth.
On the final overtime restart, Jones got a jump over Gibbs and Noah Gragson from restarting third, and appeared to be driving away. Just after taking the white flag though, Gibbs made significant contact with Jones in turn one, spinning the 19 into the SAFER Barrier.
With the caution immediately coming out, Gibbs was named the winner. This triumph puts the 54 through to the Championship 4 next week at Phoenix. Jones meanwhile, who had to win to make the title finale, finished a dismal 23rd.
“It was definitely not a clean move, for sure,” Gibbs said. “I definitely didn’t want to wreck him, but I definitely wanted to move him out of the groove so I could go win. I felt like we lost the spring race getting moved by him.
“He’s my teammate, but definitely want to get the win here. It’s important to get the win. And now we’re going to the championships. It’s cool. Hopefully, I don’t get hit by any cans or anything right here. We got moved out of the way earlier this year so, it’s part of it.”
FINAL RESTART: @BrandonJonesRac gets the lead over @TyGibbs only to get wrecked in turn 1. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/0JoFUmnVsC
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) October 29, 2022
The final Championship 4 berth was awarded to Justin Allgaier, making three of the title contenders JR Motorsports cars. Allgaier and AJ Allmendinger were racing hard at one point for seventh on track, in a dead heat for the final points spot. A flat tire on the 16 though set him back, only recovering to 16th.
OH MY GOD!
Justin Allgaier vs. AJ Allmendinger! #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/yrZOKeDxgr
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 29, 2022
Behind Ty Gibbs’ battered Toyota, top finishers were Sheldon Creed, Riley Herbst, Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, Sam Mayer, Nicholas Sanchez, Daniel Hemric, Austin Hill, and Blaine Perkins. Hear from Gragson, Allgaier, and Jones below.
.@NoahGragson thinks next week will be a difficult race for Gibbs, with many people’s targets on his back. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/Cmxzcschdd
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) October 29, 2022
.@J_Allgaier on making the Championship 4, after hugging Brandon Jones. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/xVkTEwFim2
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) October 29, 2022
2/2 on Jones, “lost all respect for (Ty Gibbs).” pic.twitter.com/fRDooJL2lk
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) October 29, 2022
Ty Gibbs, Noah Gragson, Josh Berry, or Justin Allgaier will be crowned 2022 Xfinity Series Champion next Saturday at Phoenix Raceway. The championship race will go green at 6:00 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. With how this race ended, can Gibbs mount a championship challenge against the JRM trifecta?
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Mike Mulholland/Getty Images for NASCAR
