During Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen, tensions flared between driver Ty Gibbs and Joe Gibbs Racing strategist Chris Gabehart as Gibbs grappled with poor car performance late in the event. Gibbs, driving the No. 54 Toyota Camry, ended the race with a disappointing 33rd-place finish, marking his third consecutive race outside the top 20, fueling frustration inside the team.
Struggles on track spark intense radio dialogue
With 34 laps remaining, Gibbs was challenged by a lack of rear grip on his car, complicating his ability to maintain pace. Gabehart, who serves as Joe Gibbs Racing’s director of competition and lead strategist, reassured Gibbs that adjustments would be made during his next pit stop and encouraged the driver to complete the current pit cycle. However, Gibbs’ frustration was evident over team radio.
“We’re f****d right now, so we’ve got to do something different,” he yelled on his team’s radio.
Gabehart responded sharply to Gibbs’ blunt assessment, emphasizing his own efforts and suggesting that Gibbs could take control of strategic calls if he felt strongly.
“Well, 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. But I (would) do the best I could to go as fast as I can.”
Later, Gabehart provided context for the heated exchange, attributing it to the stressful circumstances during the race.
“Of course, it’s heated. 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,” Gabehart said. “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.”
Ty Gibbs’ season performance and playoff position
This race marked Gibbs’ lowest result since the March event at Circuit of the Americas (COTA). Currently ranked 17th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings with 493 points, Gibbs has accumulated four top-five finishes and six top-10s throughout the season. Notably, he remains the only Joe Gibbs Racing driver still in contention for the playoffs.
Upcoming changes for the No. 54 Xfinity Series team
Looking ahead, Ty Gibbs is set to take over ownership of the No. 54 car in the Xfinity Series starting in 2025. This announcement, made public in October 2024, coincided with Joe Gibbs Racing’s decision to sign Taylor Gray as the full-time driver of the No. 54 Toyota GR Supra for the upcoming season. Gray will be supported by seven-time race-winning crew chief Tyler Allen.
“I am very thankful for this opportunity,” Gray said in a statement. “I feel like I have learned a lot in the races I have ran this year, and we can build on that next season. Being able to work with Tyler and these guys for a few races has been a great head start on next season and getting that chemistry going, so I’m really excited about what we can do running together full-time.”
After 23 races in the 2025 Xfinity Series, Taylor Gray and the No. 54 team occupy ninth place in the driver standings with 624 points. Although they have yet to secure a win, Gray has notched six top-five finishes and eleven top-10s.
Next challenge at Daytona International Speedway
Gray’s next race will be the Wawa 250 at Daytona International Speedway, scheduled for Friday, August 22. This 100-lap event will be broadcast on CW at 7:30 pm ET, with live updates available through MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, marking a significant opportunity for the new No. 54 team ownership under Ty Gibbs.