Ty Gibbs made the Cup playoffs for the first time this past season but next year will see him with a new crew chief as part of a shake up at Joe Gibbs Racing.
The organization failed to win in the final 18 Cup races of the season. Denny Hamlin’s crew chief, Chris Gabehart, will oversee the competition department. Gibbs’ crew chief, Chris Gayle, moves over to that role with Hamlin’s team.
The 22-year-old Gibbs had been with Gayle since 2021. They won a title in the Xfinity Series and 11 of 51 Xfinity races (21.6%). Gibbs showed progress last season, doubling the number of top-five finishes from four to eight, scoring a career-high 12 top 10s and leading a career-best 417 laps.
CREW CHIEF: Chris Gayle
TEAM: Joe Gibbs Racing
POINTS: 15th
WINS: 0
LAPS LED: 417
TOP 5s: 8
TOP 10s: 12
STARTS FROM POLE: 2 (Coca-Cola 600, Pocono)
WHAT WENT RIGHT: The second-year Cup driver made the playoffs for the first time. Gibbs seemed on his way to a Cup win when he scored five consecutive top 10s early in the year.
WHAT WENT WRONG: Scored only seven top 10s in the final 30 races of the season. Gibbs had one top 10 in the final 11 races of the year (a fifth-place result at the Kansas playoff race). He finished the season by finishing 30th or worse in five races in a row.
TY GIBBS SAID: “I think we maybe hit a plateau, for sure, but nothing was off. I think we still have a great relationship (Gibbs and Gayle). We worked really hard. … I think stuff changes. My grandfather (Joe Gibbs) won three Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks. I think stuff changes and it’s healthy. … I’m excited for the future and hopefully we will run really great next season and win races.”
WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2025: Ty Gibbs will have a new crew chief in 2025 in Tyler Allen, who won eight races in the Xfinity Series at JGR with a variety of drivers. Chris Gayle moves over to the No. 11 team to be Denny Hamlin’s crew chief with Chris Gabehart overseeing JGR’s competition department.
