BRISTOL, Tenn. — Ty Gibbs has led 503 laps in his still-budding NASCAR Cup Series career. A whopping 239 of those — 47.5% — have been led at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The 21-year-old sophomore pilot of the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota is looking to add more to that total in Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs elimination race in the Round of 16.
MORE: Starting lineup | Playoff standings before Bristol
Gibbs enters 12th in the standings, six points above the elimination line that will see four of the 16 postseason drivers’ chances to win a championship come to an end. In fact, Gibbs is tied with future teammate Chase Briscoe for the final spots above the pivotal separator. And what better track for Gibbs to defend a margin and advance than Bristol? He led a career-high 137 laps in the spring at the 0.533-mile short track, backing up a performance under the lights last year in which he led 102 circuits.
“This place is so much fun, so I always look forward to coming here and racing,” Gibbs said Friday afternoon. “Just such a fun track, so unique. I feel like it’s a driver’s track in a way, kind of I feel like I put in the (category of) Darlington and Homestead. It’s just a fun place.”
Despite leading the second-most laps in April’s 500-lap race, Gibbs wasn’t sure what exactly he learned. Severe tire wear threw the field for a loop, leaving the Charlotte, North Carolina native more perplexed than anything else with a ninth-place finish.
“The one time I went the hardest, I drove all the way to the lead, had no tire issues and won the stage,” Gibbs said. “And then the last part of the race, I saved and had tire problems. So I don’t know. We’ll see.”
What we saw Friday was another fast No. 54 Toyota. Gibbs set the fastest single lap during the extended 45-minute session at 124.719 mph (15.385 seconds), besting defending Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney, 2021 champ Kyle Larson, 2023 Championship 4 finalist William Byron and 2020 title winner Chase Elliott. He was also eighth-fastest in 30-lap averages, meaning there may be some long-run speed in his vehicle to boot.
His Cup experience is limited, but Gibbs knows what feel he is looking for behind the wheel.
“You have to be, I think, a little bit free to roll the center, but you can’t be too free, so I think it’s a pretty fine balance,” he said. “But if you’re too free, you can just run the top. Usually, you can make up for it. So that’s what’s fun here is you can move around.”
Gibbs has playoff experience thanks to his 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship campaign, but this is his debut year in the NASCAR Cup Series postseason. On the precipice of his first experience in a Cup elimination race on the bubble, Gibbs said he is not intimidated by the task ahead Saturday.
“I mean, it’s, of course, it’s hard, and going to the Cup Series is always a big jump,” Gibbs said. “But I feel like we’re working the hardest we can and go try to make it happen. And if we make it happen, we do; if we don’t, we don’t. But we just try to give 100% effort the whole time, and same with me on the track, same with my pit crew, and try to make it happen.”
Gibbs will fire off 13th in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race (7 ET, USA, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).