LONG POND, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 14: Ty Gibbs, driver of the #54 Monster Energy Toyota, waits on the grid prior to the NASCAR Cup Series The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.com at Pocono Raceway on July 14, 2024 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images) | Getty Images
LONG POND, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 14: Ty Gibbs, driver of the #54 Monster Energy Toyota, waits on the grid prior to the NASCAR Cup Series The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.com at Pocono Raceway on July 14, 2024 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Ty Gibbs has clean race at Michigan, increases playoff bubble gap

By Dustin Albino

BROOKLYN, Mich. – Since the start of the second half of the regular season, Ty Gibbs has been limping into the playoffs. Fortunately for the No. 54 team, an admirable start to kick off the 2024 campaign led to a significant points gap over the elimination line.

In the nine races leading into the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Gibbs had a single top-10 finish with six finishes outside of the top 20. His average finish during that span was a mediocre 20.8. Included in that timeframe are multiple engine issues and two DNFs.

Michigan brought optimism for Gibbs, however. Two years ago, he earned his first top-10 finish in the Cup Series on the fast, 2.0-mile track. Last year, he finished 11th.

Prior to rain halting the final three-quarters of the race and bumping it from Sunday to Monday, Gibbs was struggling to get track position. Chris Gayle, crew chief of the No. 54 Toyota, elected to have Gibbs stay out on the track when Denny Hamlin spun through the infield grass. That decision backfired, dropping Gibbs to 19th in the running order at the end of the stage.

Gayle and Gibbs had the chance for redemption towards the end of Stage 2. With a caution flying on Lap 109 for three drivers – Todd Gilliland, Joey Logano and AJ Allmendinger – all having flat right-rear tires, Gibbs remained on the track while the majority of the field pitted. On the next restart, Kyle Larson triggered a multi-car wreck when he got loose off Turn 4, involving bubble drivers Bubba Wallace and Chris Buescher.

Gibbs collected eight points by finishing third in Stage 2.

BROOKLYN, MICHIGAN - AUGUST 18: Ty Gibbs, driver of the #54 Monster Energy Toyota, Carson Hocevar, driver of the #77 Premier Security/Zeigler.com Chevrolet, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the #47 Country Crock/Minute Rice Chevrolet, race during the NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 18, 2024 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) | Getty Images
(Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) | Getty Images

During the final stage, Gibbs kept his track position and became a contender for the win. Prior to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. bringing out the caution on Lap 195, the No. 54 car was on pace to finish third. After two overtimes, he remained third, tallying his sixth top-five finish of 2024.

“It was nice to have a clean day and not have any problems,” Gibbs said. “The last time we had a clean race was Chicago. Really thankful for that. My team brought me a good car and we were in contention to win. Wish we could have won, but we had a good points day.”

By scoring 42 points, Gibbs gained 21 points on the elimination line heading into the penultimate race of the regular season at Daytona International Speedway.

“Definitely nice, but [Daytona] is a crapshoot, so I don’t really know what’s going to happen,” Gibbs added. “Hopefully, we can have a good, clean Daytona.”

Ross Chastain spun during the first overtime, but he moved to the bubble spot by one point over Wallace.