Ty Gibbs gets first Top-10 of 2025 at Darlington

DARLINGTON, S.C.- After securing a ninth place finish in Sunday’s Goodyear 400, things could be getting back on track for Ty Gibbs. 

The No.54 team was in the midst of a shocking slump coming into Darlington, having not finished inside the top-10 since Kansas last fall. The 13-race sketch of no top-10’s was even worse considering in 10 of the 13 races, he finished 22nd or worse. 

“I know we’ll get more of those, but it was a good improvement,” Gibbs said of his Darlington race. “I’m not too worried; feel like we’ll be okay. Just continue to get everyone reps and figure it out. Excited for what the future holds. Know we’ll be good.”

Sunday’s race was a rollercoaster for Joe Gibbs Racing as a whole, with the whole team falling off massively towards the end of Stage 1, with the No.54 car going a lap down. Gibbs was able to recover and finish seventh in Stage 2 before his first Top-10 finish of the season. 

At this point, however, Gibbs is going to need more than points to find his way into the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Leaving Darlington, he sits 26th in the Cup Series points standings, 46 points behind the playoff cutline. While a win isn’t mathematically required yet, he’ll need more consistent speed to prove otherwise. 

Gibbs has plenty of chances that shape up nicely for him over the remaining races in the regular season, with one coming next week at Bristol. In last spring’s chaotic Bristol race, Gibbs came home ninth. In his other three Bristol races in the Cup Series, he finished 35th, 5th and 15th. 

The slump for the No.54 team lined up with Joe Gibbs Racing’s team wide slump, which came to a crashing halt to begin 2025 with five wins in the first eight races.

Expectations are always high at JGR, but with teammates finding Victory Lane, the pressure to produce will gradually begin to ramp up.