Ty Gibbs is now poised to enter his fourth NASCAR Cup Series racing season. Set to climb into the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for Monday’s NASCAR Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, the 2023 NASCAR Sunoco Rookie of the Year will look to rise above from his 19th place finish in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series.
Stringing together five top five finishes and 10 top 10 race placings in in 2025, Gibbs, age 23, ended the Cup campaign with an average finishing position of 17.9.
Still searching for that elusive first Cup victory, Gibbs is looking for bigger and better things to come beginning with the Daytona 500 and the launch of the 2026 Cup Series. Back in Charlotte, North Carolina and waiting out the weather, Gibbs took out some time to speak about his off-season as well as the racing to come.
Q: Where are you at and what are you up to?
Gibbs: I’m training and getting ready for the season. I’ve been doing a lot of cycling. That’s been a big thing for me. I’ve also been doing a little bit of weight lifting. I’ve just been after it. I’m trying to hammer down and lock in and get ready to go racing this year. I’m going into my fourth Cup season. I’m an old fella.
Q: Are you ready for the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium?
Gibbs: Yeah, well it looks like it’s going to snow five more inches tomorrow, Eric. They moved it back to Sunday. Yes, we’ll just go for it and see how it is and take it as it is n Sunday and just go and see what happens, Honestly, I don’t know what they’re going to do because it’s supposed to snow so much. I’m just here for the ride. We’ll see what happens and try to go race. I obviously want to race. This one is kind of an exhibition race, but obviously we’re all taking it seriously. I’m excited to race again and just get back in the car. I’ve been out of the car since the Chili Bowl. It’s been a week or two so I’m kind of itching to get back in the car and go racing again. I just want to have some fun and go racing.
Q: Do you love to race anything?
Gibbs: It’s all so much fun. It’s so much fun to line back up and have another night to get them every single night. I love the Cup car, but being able to race everything is awesome. I’m just trying to stick to that, you know? I like all of it. I totally like cycling and motocross. I like it all. I’ve been fortunate enough to grow up around almost all of it.
Q: What’s your take on your 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season?
Gibbs: 2025 wasn’t really a great year for us, unfortunately. We made some changes towards the end of 2025. We were running really strong at the last couple races of the year. We’re starting off this year kind of with the same deal, so I’m real excited for this year and to see how it goes. I’m going to go at it from there and try and spank them. It’s all part of the process. I’m only 23, so in my fourth full-time year there has been a lot learned and want to be looking for success in 2026. I’m going to go hammer down and work hard and try to outwork these guys and beat them. That’s my goal. Outside that I’m just learning life and getting better and better and better and just staying after it.
Q: You guys ran strong during the mid-season months in 2025. A positive period of time that showed promise for you and the entire team?
Gibbs: Yeah, we hit a little stride there, but it wasn’t going to work for the long term, so we’re just staying after it. Honestly, there is not much besides that. I’m just hammering down.
Q: How badly do you want to win your first Cup Series race?
Gibbs: Yeah, definitely. For sure. Yeah, this year hopefully we can knock a couple of race wins off and maybe even more that. I also want to get into the new Chase deal. We’ll see what happens and just go after at it from there. We had some highs this year. Towards the end of the year we sort of hit where we really wanted to be and I was really happy with that. All of our guys work together really well, so we’ll just see how it all goes and stay after it from there. We obviously didn’t run good last year and really didn’t do much. That’s kind of a low. Sometimes you need that to make you stronger and to just go out there and keep figuring stuff out.
Q: Daytona International Speedway and the 2026 Daytona 500 are almost upon us. How are you looking at that race and all that goes into it?
Gibbs: Yes, a lot definitely goes into that. I’m just staying focused on it and I want to get after it. I just want t lock in on it and see if I can go win that race. I think we’ve got a shot. I think everybody’s got a shot at that one. I think that’s a historic race to go win and I think it would obviously be very big for me. It’s just different. It is it’s own deal with it’s own mystique. I think everybody knows the Daytona 500. Even the girls that don’t know anything about race cars know what the Daytona 500 is. Yeah, we’ll see what happens on that.
Q: A lot goes into being a NASCAR Cup driver, doesn’t it?
Gibbs: Yeah, definitely. A lot goes into it. I love it. I love it so much. There’s nothing I’d rather do than wake up and work it. I enjoy it all so much. I’m just blessed every day to be driving race cars. I just want to keep after it.
Q: Immediately after the Daytona 500 will come the Atlanta, Austin, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Darlington races. How are you going to approach those?
Gibbs: Atlanta is pretty similar to Daytona. COTA is a road course and we’ve kind of been ahead in our road course game. We want to try and step that up and go at them on the road course. We want to try some new things and just see what we can do better. And I think I know a lot of things that I can do better from last year. Yeah, let’s go from there and see what happens. All of them are great race tracks and I love them. Phoenix is great. Darlington, I’ve never won there and I would love to. We run really strong there. We’ve finished second there a couple of times. Just some good tracks ahead. Starting off the new season strong will be important. I’m just staying after it, you know?
Q: How do you feel about your crew chief Tyler Allen as well as your team surroundings for the 2026 Cup season?
Gibbs: I’m definitely happy with it ll. I really like Tyler. I think or whole deal this year is really strong. We’re just going to go at it and see what happens and go for the win at ALL the races. We’re going to see what happens there. I think we’re really strong. Our team has put a lot of preparation in. We have two new guys on our team that are going to be really strong. Everybody is after it. We have a great team and team chemistry. Everybody is just being so cool. It’s going to be fun in 2026. I’ve definitely got a lot around me that we need and we’re just going to put it all together and go after it. I just want to get in the Cup car and get it locked in and want to win some races and be in a good groove there.
Q: What goals and what marks do you want to hit in 2026?
Gibbs: I think I want to get a couple of wins, obviously. I just want to go win it all and I think that’s the only way. Outside of that I just want to do the best that I can and just get a win. Yeah, for me, this is what I want to do with goals. I’m growing up and just figuring it all out at a young age. I just want to go hammer it out from there. There is a lot going on, but I’m so blessed in what I get to do in life. I have great people around me that make it pretty easy for me. I just have to stay after it and hammer down and keep going for it. Racing is what I love. There are some things that are involved with it that are not ideal, but I keep going at it and keep taking it is what it is. I love the race cars and I’ll just keep on going.
