Ty Gibbs scored his second straight top-10 finish at Sonoma Raceway, but he garnered more attention for his pit road skirmish with Brad Keselowski's crew. The incident ended up in a fierce shoving match between the two crews.
During Sunday's Toyota / Save Mart 350, Gibbs entered the pits on lap 52 after making contact with RFK Racing's Chris Buescher. While doing so, he clipped a tire held by Keselowski's crew member in the pit box adjacent to his.
The contact apparently caused a slow stop for the tire changer, who went on to confront JGR's crew members after sending the cars back on track. NASCAR officials had to intervene and diffuse the situation.
Here's a clip of the initial contact shared by Lucky Don on Track.
Ty Gibbs spoke to NASCAR post-race and cleared himself of any wrongdoing.
"By NASCAR's rules I'm the lead car because I'm the pit box past where the six is and I'm in front of them as well. We have these orange lines....where if I'm behind him, I have to go around those orange lines for it to be a rule. And going in, I have the right of way. So, you know, they're on the wall for a reason. They jump for a reason to kind of get out of the way, and those guys like to push it and, you know, kind of that's kind of the consequence you pay," he said. [3:06 onwards]
In their part, NASCAR officials agreed with Gibbs' assessment and ruled in his favor. The governing body also mentioned that Keselowski's No.6 team should've given more room for Gibbs' pit entry.
JGR's competition director comments on Ty Gibbs' pit road incident
Chris Gabehart, Joe Gibbs Racing's competition director, delivered a verdict on Ty Gibbs' 'overblown' pit lane incident. He argued that it's a 'really tight spot' when the two cars come in 'nose to tail' and at the same time.
"I understand why it was made a scene, but the truth of the matter is, the lead car in that instance has the right-of-way to the trailing-box car," he said via NASCAR.
Following a career-high finish at second in Chicago, Ty Gibbs finished seventh at Sonoma, while Brad Keselowski came in one spot shy of the top 10. The result helped Gibbs gain two spots in the driver's standings to place 17th, a marked difference from Keselowski's 27th place.
Nonetheless, Gibbs is the lowest placed driver in the JGR stable, with Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and Chase Briscoe all placing among the top-10, having sealed their spots in the playoffs. The #54 driver is still vying for his maiden Cup Series win, while he currently stands 60 points adrift of the playoff cutline.
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