MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Six races into the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Ty Gibbs is 11th in the standings. His season is highlighted by three consecutive top five finishes – Circuit of The Americas, Phoenix Raceway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Displaying rock solid maturity and consistency throughout the opening phase of the campaign, the No. 54 wheelman has been a force to dealt with and now looks to be getting closer to knocking off that elusive first Cup victory.
Carrying a significant amount of momentum after pulling down a sixth-place finish at Darlington Raceway last Sunday, the 23-year-old will now look to frantic 0.526-mile Martinsville Speedway and this Sunday’s Cook Out 400.
On Friday afternoon, Gibbs checked in from the Martinsville garages.
“Martinsville is awesome,” declared Gibbs. “I’ve had some success at Martinsville. I really like that track. It’s pretty difficult. And going back there we have 100 more horsepower now. I think that makes a difference and it puts it more in the driver’s hands and I really like that. It gives me a better opportunity. Our cars are awesome. They’re really strong right now. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Gibbs is pleased with what has transgressed for the No. 54 entry thus far.
“It’s been a really good start for us,” said Gibbs. “The first two races actually weren’t great. We’ve been really strong and we’re sitting eleventh in points right now. I’m looking to improve myself and to also knock some wins off. We’ve been really consistent and the car has been really good, and I feel like I’ve been doing a good job, as well.
“I’m maxing out myself on the training side and we’ve also been maximizing the car side. I think everything has just been clicking really good and it’s been a lot of fun.”
Gibbs was caught up in early season crashes at Daytona International Speedway and EchoPark Speedway which resulted in 23rd and 37th-place finishes. Undaunted, Gibbs bounced back resolutely with an impressive fourth-place finish at COTA.
“Fourth place at COTA was really solid for us,” said Gibbs. “We needed to have a good run and get some stage points and shut some people up. It was good to have that. To knock off a good run there was important and kind of set off this last month’s run in the top five to top ten. I’ve had a lot of fun. The cars have been fun and great to drive. My pit crew has been killing it. Tyler Allen and all the guys have just been crashing it.”
One week later, Gibbs raced to a fourth-place finish at Phoenix Raceway.
“Phoenix was good,” he said. “We were close at the end. We led them off at the green-white-checkers. Just couldn’t finish it, unfortunately. I’ve been really close there. We’re really strong. Man, we were so close, so it was kind of frustrating. To know that we can be competitive at a track that we kind of were horrible at the last couple years has been really positive. I’ve been having a blast with it all.”
Las Vegas Motor Speedway brought Ty Gibbs his third consecutive top-five finish,
“Unfortunately, me and Denny Hamlin sped on pit road. It was kind of a freak deal with the way pit road was,” explained Gibbs. “I had to come back from that and had a little adversity, but we kept of fighting and kept on making adjustments and we were really close at the end. We just needed a little bit more and needed some more laps. We were running good there. Vegas is such a fun place to go run at.”
Last Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway saw Gibbs run to a strong and consistent sixth-place score.
“Darlington was really good. I think I could have done a better job there It was very encouraging,” Gibbs said. “I think it was one of our worst races so far this year and we finished sixth, so the team is giving me a lot of hope. I’m giving my team a ton of hope, too. I’m very pumped, man. I’m just looking to maximize it and keep getting better and to just keep improving my race craft.”
Gibbs’ consistency and maturity displayed thus far in 2026 has not gone unnoticed.
“Yeah, I don’t really care because I feel like people are going to judge you if you’re running well; they’re going to be on your side. If you don’t run well, they’re going to be on the opposite side, so I don’t really look at that stuff,” Gibbs said. “I think sometimes people get fake about it. I don’t really care. I’m not here to make friends with all of that stuff. I’m here to go race cars because I really like it and I want to beat everybody and go win and maximize my job.
“That’s why I’m here. I really like it, so I don’t really mind or care what people think. I appreciate the best comments from people, but when I’m not running well, they’re not talking about me either. It’s not like I’m making friends with them.”
Still Gibbs, who won the 2022 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series title, is still chasing his first Cup Series triumph.
“I don’t know,” he answered. “We’ve been so close. I think if we keep running consistent, we’ll be there. We’ve been really consistent. We’ve just got to keep doing that and keep maximizing that and eventually we’re going to knock it off. I know we can, for sure. Yeah, just going to keep staying after it, mean. I mean that’s all we can do and that’s all I can do.
“Yeah, just keep my head down and keep working hard and trust in the process. God has got a plan for me and my team and we’re just going to keep going and keep working. We love racing, so if some adversity comes our way, and that’s going to happen, we’ll look past that, too.”
Does Gibbs feel different in 2026?
“I do, but also, not a lot has changed,” he pointed out. “We’ve just been running really good finally. We’ve got a good program. Everybody believes in each other. I think that’s good and I think that’s special. Having that is super important and I’m just looking forward to more racing this year. It’s been fun. People are looking to make headlines and stuff, but I don’t really care about that.
“Just keep focused and just keep working at it and it’ll all come eventually. I’m just going to stay after it and see if I can knock some wins off and just keep running good like I am right now. Yeah, we’ll just take it by year and take it by week and just keep focusing and working hard. My team has done a great job. We’re just going to keep staying after it.”
One of the younger drivers in the Cup field, Gibbs believes age and maturity will just help him as he goes along in the sport.
“I think it will. I think you learn how to control more things in life. I think that helps,” Gibbs said. “I think being young sometimes hurts, but also, it’s helpful, too because I can maximize my future and see what we did wrong to get better. Sometimes when the track does this or that, I don’t have as much experience and don’t know as much. I think it hurts there. I have a lot of room to learn and grow, and I really enjoy the whole process about it, as well.
“I feel like people just don’t understand me. Some people might see it that I come from a lot of money or whatever and try to make it look like I’m spoiled, but I really love racing. I’m a big fan of it all. I’m not here to have a ton of fans, I just love racing. I’m not trying to be a people pleaser. I’m just trying to go race and win.”
Can Ty Gibbs make a run at the Cup Series championship?
“For sure,” he answered. “I think we have a shot. I think if we keep running like we do, we can knock some wins off and I keep getting good experience and we keep growing as a team, for sure we can do it. No doubt. I think we’re capable of doing it. We’re far better than we were last year. It’s been a ton of fun.”
