With only Phoenix Raceway, Talladega Superspeedway, Martinsville Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway awaiting, the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series is down to the final phase of its 78th season.
Holding station in ninth place in the NASCAR Chase standings is Joe Gibbs Racing wheelman Ty Gibbs.
Coming straight off a rough and tumble Sunday afternoon last week at last Sunday’s Bank of America at Charlotte where he placed 34th and wound up eight laps behind the leaders, Gibbs is looking to bounce back strong this Sunday in the 312-lap Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix Raceway.
Set to climb into the No. 54 Toyota Camry and try and scratch and claw his way back up the leaderboard, the 24 year-old will be backed by Monster Energy, as well as the Big 12 Conference. On Friday afternoon over in Avondale, Arizona, Gibbs spoke about the task at hand.
“Just got to Phoenix here and I’m getting ready for this weekend’s race here in Arizona,” explained Gibbs. “It’s a great racetrack and I have some sponsorship stuff to do today, so I’m looking forward to it. I’m a little bit tired, but I’m ready to get back to it all. This place is sick, you know? We’ve had good runs here in the past. I’d love to get my fifth win here on Sunday. It would be so rad. We’ll see where we end up. I think we definitely have a shot, though.”
Gibbs comes off something of a rough patch in the last three Cup races, scoring 17th-place finishes at Kansas Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and running to a 34th-place finish last Sunday at Charotte Motor Speedway.
“Yeah, you know it kind of sucked in the last couple of races,” pointed out Gibbs. “There was nothing good. I got wrecked last week by the No. 45 car. However, everyone gets the word that we are kind of improving our racing. Obviously, we’ve got great speed, we’ve just kind of had some crappy positions we’ve been in.
“Charlotte was really frustrating It was just not cool. We just put our head down. Not much we can do now. It’s in the past. We’re looking at changing it all around and going out to win this weekend in Phoenix. I think we’ll have the speed, for sure. I felt really good in the simulator. I feel pretty good coming in here to Phoenix. I’ve got a great group of guys around me. They’re great dudes and it is good to have the positivity.”
Immediately following the Phoenix race, Gibbs will certainly face a mixed bag of Cup circuits as Talladega, Martinsville and Homestead-Miami offer up radically different challenges to the drivers and teams in coming weeks.
“Yeah, you know next week at Talladega is obviously the biggest mixed bag, but this week I feel like we’re going to be strong and next week I think we’ll be strong,” Gibbs said. “I think we’ll be strong in the rest of the races. We’ve got to capitalize on what we do and just keep getting better and keep working and learning. I think we’ll eventually be there.”
Despite the Charlotte setback, does Ty Gibbs still feel like the No. 54 team has a shot at the championship?
“Yeah, I do,” said Gibbs. “Just go win the next four. That’s my goal. That is our only option, so we’re just going to try and do that and see where we’re at. Maybe after we win the next four races, maybe we’ll win the championship. I don’t know. My goal is to try and win a couple of races here. It would be nice to win one of the next four races, but I’d also like win all of them, too. I think we’ll definitely have a shot to do it, we just have t maximize it and capitalize on what we’re doing with it.”
The Big 12, a member of the Division 1 of the NCAA for all sports, will be a co-primary sponsor adjacent to Monster Energy on the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry XSE at Phoenix.
“Yeah, Monster Energy is sponsoring the Big 12 Conference and now they’re going to put their logo on our car, which is super cool,” explained Gibbs, grandson to Superbowl-winning coach Joe Gibbs. “It brings sports together with the racing. I kind of grew up around sports, so it’s super cool. I haven’t asked my grandfather Joe much about it, but yeah, I think he really likes that stuff. It should be pretty badass. We’re also going to have some athletes come out to the race and hang out and check it out. It’s going to be a fun.”
Regardless of winning the title, Gibbs has enjoyed his best Cup Series season.
“This year has been really good,” said Gibbs, who has claimed two wins, 12 top five finishes and 18 top 10 scores in 2026 Cup racing. “We cold be in a better position in the championship, but it’s not over yet. It has been a lot of fun this year. We just want to keep getting better and keep maximizing.
“Our consistency was really good the whole way, except for the last three races. Yeah, it was pretty solid throughout the whole year. I just have to stay focused, but it has been a lot of fun. I’ve got good people around me to make my career easier. I wouldn’t be here without them. We just have to stay after it. I know that we could do it. I just need to win a couple races and put ourselves back in contention.”
