Ty Gibbs Silences Doubters with Xfinity Series Title

Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images for NASCAR

NASCAR

Ty Gibbs Takes Down JRM Trifecta, Wins 2022 Xfinity Series Championship

AVONDALE, Ariz. – After a week full of controversy to say the least, Ty Gibbs put together a career-defining drive at Phoenix Raceway. From the pole, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver swept all three Stages, taking home his first NASCAR championship. On the strength of seven wins, Gibbs wins the war over JR Motorsports in taking the victory and the title. The 20-year-old will compete in the NASCAR Cup Series next season, now taking a championship pedigree with him onto Sundays in 2023.

While Gibbs led every lap of Stage 1, the win was not as secure in Stage 2. Noah Gragson was able to get by at one point late in this Stage, briefly holding the top spot over the 54. However, Gibbs was able to reclaim lost ground from the 9, taking a Stage-sweeping effort.

Despite losing the lead on pit road, Gibbs quickly retook point in Stage 3. On an early restart though, Gragson was able to once again pounce on Gibbs, getting the upper hand. Gragson held the lead in the race and the championship for over 30 laps, before being passed by teammate Justin Allgaier. As Gibbs’ handling was falling off, Allgaier rose to the occasion. Gragson running wide in one corner saw the 9 fall to third, allowing the 7 and 54 to get by.

Under caution with 40 to go, Gibbs’ pit crew delivered in the clutch, getting the 54 out first ahead of the JRM trio. At this same time, Gragson’s crew faltered, putting the 9 back in eighth for the coming sprint to the finish.

While fourth Championship 4 driver Josh Berry scrubbed the outside wall and fell out of contention, this restart saw Gragson get up on the wheel. The 9 quickly went from eighth to third, setting Allgaier and Gibbs in his sights. Allgaier also reclaimed the lead inside of the final 30 laps, as all three cars were on top of each other lap after lap. After working over the 7 for multiple laps, the 54 made the winning pass with 20 to go.

Over the closing laps it was anything but an easy drive for Gibbs, as Gragson continued to close in. Despite making up great time on the 54’s bumper, the 9 couldn’t ever get quite close enough to make a pass. On the last lap, Gragson sent it into turn three, only to come up a few feet short. After a dirty move won Martinsville last week, Ty Gibbs was nothing but clean and respectful in Phoenix, taking the biggest win of his career.

“First off, I just want to say thank you to my team,” Gibbs said after exiting his car. “Every one of these guys, my pit crew, they did an awesome job. They put us here. Great job to my team.”

“You know, what I did last week was unacceptable, and I apologize once again, but it was unacceptable because we could have had two shots to win this deal, and it was stupid from an organization standpoint. All my fault.”

“I can sit here and tell you I’m sorry as much as I can, but it’s not going to fix it. I’ve got to fix my actions. I felt like today I had a good race, felt like I made some good moves. Me and the 7 were racing really hard. I felt like hopefully we put on a great show for you guys, the fans, and thank you for all that you guys do.”

“I don’t want to be the one with the boos, and I’m the one that put myself in that position. But I don’t want this championship to be remembered for boos; I want it to be remembered for hard work and our team. Awesome job. Let’s go, Monster Energy, David Gowland, Mitch Covington. Thank you guys, so much. Norm from Interstate Batteries, Xfinity. My car was as fast as Xfinity internet. Thank you to the fans, even though I don’t have that many of them. Hopefully I earned some respect back, and we’ll move on. Thank you, guys.”

“I felt like we had a great race with those guys. Great job to JR Motorsports, but the 25 percent won. Awesome job. Thank you to all the guys. Had an awesome time racing in the Xfinity Series this year, and looking for more and I’m very excited. Thank you for everybody.”

Ty Gibbs and Noah Gragson are both moving into the Cup Series next season. Their careers will be linked for years to come, so it’s only fitting they took the top two spots on-track and in the 2022 championship.

Justin Allgaier was a distant third, with Landon Cassill, AJ Allmendinger, Sheldon Creed, Riley Herbst, Daniel Hemric, Austin Hill, and Sammy Smith in the top-10. Josh Berry faded after making late wall contact, falling to 13th at the end.

Despite winning the ultimate prize in the Xfinity Series, Ty Gibbs’ weekend of racing is not done yet. Gibbs will compete in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship race. The newly crowned champion will try to get another strong showing with 23XI Racing. The 312-lap dash to determine who takes home the 2022 Bill France Cup will go green at 3:00 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Written by Peter Stratta

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Photo Credit to Sean Gardner/Getty Images for NASCAR