Ty Gibbs on joining Bristol: ‘Give 100% effort all the time’

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Ty Gibbs has led 503 laps in his still-burgeoning NASCAR Cup Series career, with a whopping 239 of them — 47.5 percent — leading at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The 21-year-old driver of the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota will be hoping to score even more points in Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs elimination round of the round of 16.

MORE: Starting Lineup | Playoff Standings for Bristol

Gibbs enters 12th in the standings, six points above the elimination line, which means four of the 16 postseason drivers lose their chance at a championship. Gibbs is even tied with future teammate Chase Briscoe for the final spots above the crucial divider. And what better track for Gibbs to defend a margin and advance than Bristol? He led a career-high 137 laps in the spring at the 0.533-mile short track, backing up a performance under the lights from last year in which he led 102 circuits.

“This place is so much fun, so I always look forward to coming here and racing,” Gibbs said Friday afternoon. “Just such a fun track, so unique. I feel like it’s a race car track in a way, I feel like I’m in the (category of) Darlington and Homestead. It’s just a fun place.”

Despite leading the second-most laps in April’s 500-lap race, Gibbs wasn’t sure what he had learned. Severe tire wear threw the field into disarray, leaving the Charlotte, North Carolina native more perplexed than anything with a ninth-place finish.

“One time I was going the hardest, I was all the way in the lead, had no tire issues and won the stage,” Gibbs said. “And then in the last part of the race I bailed and had tire issues. So I don’t know. We’ll see.”

What we saw on Friday was another fast No. 54 Toyota. Gibbs posted the fastest single lap of the 45-minute extended session at 124.719 mph (15.385 seconds), beating out reigning Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney, 2021 champion Kyle Larson, 2023 Championship 4 finalist William Byron and 2020 title winner Chase Elliott. He was also eighth-fastest in 30-lap averages, suggesting there could be some long-term speed in his car as well.

His Cup experience is limited, but Gibbs knows the feeling he’s looking for behind the wheel.

“You have to be, I think, a little bit free to roll the middle, but you can’t be too free, so I think it’s a pretty fine balance,” he said. “But if you’re too free, you can just run the top. Usually you can make up for it. So that’s what’s nice here, you can move around.”

Gibbs has playoff experience thanks to his 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship campaign, but this is his debut year in the NASCAR Cup Series postseason. On the eve of his first experience in a Cup elimination race on the bubble, Gibbs said he’s not intimidated by the task that awaits him Saturday.

“I mean, it’s tough, obviously, and going to the Cup Series is always a big jump,” Gibbs said. “But I feel like we’re working our hardest and trying to make it happen. And if it works out, it works out, and if it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t. But we just try to give 100 percent all the time, and same goes for me on the track, same goes for my pit crew, and try to make it happen.”

Gibbs finishes 13th in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race (7 ET, USA, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).