NASCAR

Ty Gibbs Goes Airborne, Involved in 4 Dustups, But Chooses Words Carefully at Bowman Gray Stadium

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The main event of Sunday night’s Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium was, by any objective measure, a bit of a snoozer.

The preliminary 75-lap Last Chance Qualifier leading up to it was anything but boring, however. And for that, you can mostly thank Ty Gibbs.

No, Gibbs didn’t win the Last Chance Qualifier, but the 22-year-old grandson of his legendary team owner, Joe Gibbs, certainly made his presence felt by being quite the wrecking ball.

That naturally provided some nice entertainment for the massive TV audience watching on FOX Sports and the 17,000 fans in attendance at the quarter-mile Winston-Salem, North Carolina bullring that was making its debut as host of the NASCAR Cup Series’ annual preseason exhibition race.

Ty Gibbs’ Race Took An Unfortunate Turn With Bump From Kyle Larson

So what went wrong for Ty Gibbs in the Last Chance Qualifier at Bowman Gray?

In short: just about everything.

Gibbs spun not once, not twice, but three times in his No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota after leading early on in the 75-lap sprint from which the top two finishers transferred to the main, 200-lap event.

Gibbs’ evening began to unravel when, while out front, he was nudged out of the way by the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of eventual Last Chance Qualifier winner Kyle Larson.

That was just the beginning of the trouble for Gibbs, though.

The Hits Kept Coming For Ty Gibbs, Courtesy Of Josh Berry

After being moved by Larson, Gibbs still had a chance to salvage a decent finish in the Last Chance Qualifier.

But Josh Berry, making his debut in the iconic No. 21 Ford of Wood Brothers Racing, had other ideas. Berry drilled Gibbs in left rear, sending him for a smoky spin in Turn 2.

With the Berry collision and subsequent accident, Gibbs’ night of misadventures at the track nicknamed “The Madhouse” was just kicking into high gear, however.

Ty Gibbs’ Night Went From Bad To Awful When He Tried To Settle A Score With Justin Haley

Just when you thought all of Ty Gibbs’ issues might be over at Bowman Gray, well, think again.

Simply trying to salvage the best finish he could after his two earlier dustups in the Last Chance Qualifier, Gibbs went for yet another spin — this time from contact with Justin Haley. And that’s when Gibbs had finally had enough.

Following what was his third incident of the night, Gibbs promptly made his displeasure with Haley known by basically pile-driving into the right side of Haley’s car while under caution.

The only problem? Gibbs hit Haley so hard that his own car briefly went airborne.

 

“That was pretty violent,” former NASCAR Cup Series driver-turned-race announcer Clint Bowyer said from the FOX Sports broadcast booth upon watching the replay of Gibbs’ move on Haley.

Fellow race announcer Kevin Harvick — also a former Cup Series driver — responded to Bowyer with a “yeah.”

That led lead announcer Mike Joy to offer his own hot take, which sort of put it all in perspective.

“Any question whether we’re at The Madhouse now?” Joy asked rhetorically.

After One Final Spin, Ty Gibbs Took A Fairly Tight-Lipped Approach To Post-Race Interviews

Incredibly, Gibbs’ run-in with Haley wasn’t the end of his topsy-turvy night. He spun once again — on the Last Chance Qualifier’s final lap. Gibbs limped home 14th out of 19 cars, failing to transfer into the main event, which Chase Elliott dominated.

Although Gibbs was obviously unhappy with how his night unfolded, the notoriously hot-headed driver downplayed the series of events during post-race interviews.

Asked specifically about slamming into Haley and going airborne, Gibbs said he gave Haley “a little tap.”

Given that NASCAR is not a fan of drivers running into each other under caution, Gibbs was wise to choose his words carefully. NASCAR could still potentially penalize Gibbs this week, though, after taking a closer look at his act of retaliation toward Haley.

So, stay tuned. The fallout from the first NASCAR Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium might not be over yet.