Gibbs upsets McDowell, completes first NASCAR All-Star Race
In the NASCAR All-Star Race, Ty Gibbs finished the best of the three drivers who advanced from the Open race.
He didn’t get there without ruffling some feathers, though.
Gibbs earned the Open pole and led the first 43 laps. Then, during the lap 40 competition caution, he dropped back.
Then, after a lap 51 caution, Gibbs raced Michael McDowell on lap 58. Exiting turn four, Gibbs bumped McDowell into Justin Haley who both crashed into the turn four wall.
Gibbs drove away, scot-free. However, it wasn’t the last time he’d hear from McDowell.
Gibbs took the lead from Josh Berry on lap 68. Then, on lap 77, Gibbs caught McDowell, who limped around at minimum speed with his wrecked car.
McDowell bumped into Gibbs and moved him up the track, opening the door for Berry to retake the lead.
Gibbs held on for second and made the All-Star Race. Meanwhile, McDowell finished 13th, three laps down, upset with the young gun.
“Ty just plowed into me, just knocked me into the 31 and spun us both out, and got a lot of damage from that. We ended up on the short side of it. It sucks. I feel like we had a pretty fast Gr8 Auctions Ford Mustang,” McDowell said, “but at the same time, all that stuff comes around, man. You get away with it a few times, but it comes around.”
“I don’t have a budget for the fine, otherwise, I would not be standing here, I’d be standing down there.”
While McDowell stood aside, Gibbs started 23rd in the All-Star Race.
Gibbs ran just outside of the top 10. Then, in the final 91 laps, he moved from 12th to ninth and finished just behind Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones.
Meanwhile, Open winner Josh Berry finished 15th, one lap down. Fan vote winner Noah Gragson finished 23rd, two laps down, with a damaged car.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com
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