As the 2025 Cup Series season progresses, Ty Gibbs finds himself in the shadow of his teammate Christopher Bell’s towering success. Bell, driver of the No. 20 Toyota, already has three consecutive wins under his belt this season. Conversely, Gibbs, positioned a dismal 34th in the standings, is still in search of his first top-ten finish.
Gibbs, the grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, finds himself in a predicament. After the team relaxed rules about participating in races outside of the main series, Bell decided to dip his toes back into dirt racing, reaping a bounty of medals in the process. Noting Bell’s success, Ty Gibbs is now charting a similar course, hoping to replicate his teammate’s triumphs.
2025 marked the commencement of Christopher Bell’s dirt racing onslaught. His victories include the Tulsa Shootout, the O’Reilly Race of Champions trophy at the Chili Bowl, and several World of Outlaws wins. His return to his roots has not only reinvigorated his personal journey but also injected new life into his NASCAR campaign. Following Bell’s third win of the season at Phoenix, Ty Gibbs was sufficiently inspired to carve out a similar dirt racing path to bolster his flagging NASCAR career.
Gibbs is scheduled to make his Sprint Car debut at the Kubota High Limit Racing’s season opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He will guide the No. 84 Monster Energy Drink machine around the half-mile dirt oval, backed by his official sponsor, CB Industries. Journalist Jeff Gluck broke the news, highlighting the fact that Christopher Bell would be making his High Limit debut as well.
Gibbs’ interest in dirt racing was sparked last year when he made his debut in a Midget at Ventura Raceway’s annual Turkey Night Grand Prix. The 2022 Xfinity Series champion then followed his debut with a Chili Bowl Nationals entry where he bagged a G-main win and a sixth-place finish in one of the F-mains. Earlier this month, Gibbs tested a winged 410 Sprint Car at Carolina Speedway, earning praise from Sprint Car veteran Lynton Jeffrey.
Despite these promising developments, Gibbs’ NASCAR performance graph has been on a worrying downward trajectory since last year, causing unease among seasoned drivers.
Gibbs’ disappointing performance in the 2024 Cup Series season, particularly in the final ten races of the playoffs where he managed only four finishes inside the top 20, raises concern. Of additional concern is his lackluster performance in 2025, where he’s yet to secure a top-15 finish.
Kevin Harvick, 2014 Cup Series champion, voiced his concerns, stating that Gibbs’ slump from the previous year seems to be continuing into the current year. Clint Bowyer echoed Harvick’s sentiments, warning that Gibbs’ struggles are not a one-off occurrence and suggest a deeper issue that needs to be addressed.
With the weight of these concerns bearing down on him, Ty Gibbs is hoping that his Sprint Car pursuits will provide the much-needed spark to reignite his career.
