Ty Gibbs, 16, grabs first ARCA Menards Series win with last-lap pass

Ty Gibbs, the 16-year-old grandson of Coach Joe Gibbs, scored his first victory in the ARCA Menards Series on Saturday night, converting a last-lap pass on Sam Mayer to win at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. Gibbs' No. 18 Toyota dove underneath Mayer's No. 21 Chevrolet with a bold move entering the final corner before getting a clear path to the checkered flag for the Day to Day Coffee 150. Mayer bumped Gibbs' car after the finish to express his unhappiness. "He left the door open. It was fair game," Gibbs told MavTV post-race. "I got bumped by him at Madison and got spun -- or Salem -- so it's fair game, though. He left the door open. He had it won if he wouldn't have left it wide open. I don't know what he was doing, but we won the race." Gibbs rallied from a late-race pit stop that shuffled him back to eighth place in the running order for the final restart. He calmly picked his way through to contend for the lead before making his move on Mayer. Christian Eckes slipped by Mayer to grab second place at the finish. "I wouldn't really call it a pass," said Mayer, who took third in his seventh ARCA start. "... You just move on honestly. You've just got to just look at video and see what you can do to fix the problem and get on the other side of things." Gibbs had netted three runner-up finishes before breaking through in his sixth appearance in the ARCA Menards Series. His grandfather was on hand, anxiously watching from atop the team hauler. "You know you go to wins and everything for everybody, but when it's your grandson or so, there's no feeling like this, I'll just put it that way," Coach Gibbs said. "I was so uptight. The Cup races, I can kind of relax, but this, I get uptight."