“That radio is for your team, and the only reason why anybody else has access to it is for entertainment.” Ty Gibbs said these words in early May. He referred to a radio controversy that Joey Logano landed himself in after lashing out at his teammate in Talladega. Three months after defending the Team Penske driver, however, Gibbs found himself in a similar situation. But now, he has Kevin Harvick, 2014 Cup Series champion, to speak on his behalf.
The Watkins Glen race witnessed mechanical failures and a fall in pace. For Ty Gibbs, there was a passionate drive to finish better and gain a playoff advantage. However, that passion boiled over into a heated exchange with his pit crew. Despite the ensuing backlash, Kevin Harvick shielded Gibbs.
Kevin Harvick sympathizes with Gibbs
The fans’ controversy around Ty Gibbs is nothing new. When Joe Gibbs’ grandson clinched the 2022 Xfinity Series championship, the youngster had a few questionable incidents. One of them involved door-slamming Ty Dillon in Texas, for which Gibbs was fined $75,000. Around that time, Gibbs also suffered a heartbreaking bereavement in his family. His father, Coy Gibbs, a golden asset to Joe Gibbs Racing, passed away unexpectedly shortly after his son’s title run. This came not long after his uncle, J.D. Gibbs, had also passed away in 2019 after battling a degenerative neurological disease. Some may overlook these circumstances. However, upon closer examination, they have a greater impact on a driver than is visible.
So, when Ty Gibbs garnered heat for questioning Chris Gabehart’s strategy in Watkins Glen, Kevin Harvick stood by his side. The former veteran slammed all the fans’ backlash in a recent ‘Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour’ episode: “I think a lot of people give Ty grief in scenarios where they don’t think about the whole picture. At 22, he’s been through something that’s unimaginable. They changed the whole team this year to start it off right, now you put him in another position. It’s kind of like his back’s been up against the wall.” He added, “And that can be frustrating.”
Ty Gibbs has racked up 6 top tens and 4 top fives, and currently occupies the 17th spot in championship standings. What is more, the No. 54 JGR driver also won the $1 Million In-Season Challenge. So, Kevin Harvick continued to appreciate Gibbs: “Who he is as a driver, we got a great snapshot of that over the last few months, of the potential that Ty Gibbs has behind the wheel. And the things that he can do on the racetrack to go out, and go fast, and win races.”
With 34 laps remaining in Watkins Glen, Ty Gibbs lost his patience as he struggled to find his grip. That is what led to an exchange of barbs between him and Chris Gabehart. Kevin Harvick said that it is not ideal, although it is part and parcel of driving: “You definitely don’t want to have the banter between the crew chief and the driver like that. Once that happened, the whole race fell apart…When you look at the situation, I’ve been in those scenarios before, and as a frustrated driver, when you feel like the car is all of a sudden just falling off and not doing what you want it to do.”
As Kevin Harvick takes Ty Gibbs’ side, the latter’s team head also did. It was none other than the person Gibbs had a scuffle with.
The calm after the storm
“I’m sure you’ve got a real good understanding of that from inside the car, so you can call the strategy if you want, or we can keep rolling.” Chris Gabehart may have scolded Ty Gibbs during the Watkins Glen race. However, his chiding tone softened after the race, as the JGR competition director knows the ups and downs of a race. Gabehart had won 22 races with Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 team earlier, hence he was no stranger to driver-crew chief scuffles. Also, Gibbs has had a fairly encouraging season. Despite a disappointing start, he had a top 15 streak from Mexico to Atlanta, and then a top 10 streak from Chicago to Dover.
Gibbs experienced a low again with 21st-place runs in Indianapolis and Iowa and now a 33rd-place finish in Watkins Glen. However, Chris Gabehart took it all in stride. He explained what went down at Sunday’s road course: “It’s a hot day, and the driver’s working his butt off in there and doesn’t know the details of who’s on what for strategy. There was a caution that fell there early in Stage 2 that really split the field a lot of different ways. So for drivers, that’s always the most confusing time because they don’t know how to measure their car against whom and what’s the next play in the playbook.” He added, “This is a very difficult race to follow, even for the most experienced drivers. The strategy just changes so much, and Ty is still trying to work through some of these nuances.”
With such understanding opinions from veterans in the garage, Ty Gibbs can soar ahead. Let us see if the young driver can learn from his mistake and perform better in the next race.
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