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Kurt Busch showing signs of a concussion after his crash at Pocono Raceway meant Ty Gibbs was presented with the opportunity to fill the veteran's shoes in the NASCAR Cup Series. With Busch already sitting out the Verizon 200 and not cleared to race in the FireKeepers Casino 400 this weekend either, Gibbs will once again be driving the former's #45 Monster Energy Toyota Camry TRD.
The third time's the charm, as they say, and the 19-year-old full-time Xfinity Series driver will be looking to find his feet this weekend in the highest echelon of stock car racing. 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin has candidly admitted that Joe Gibbs' grandson has been doing quite well in the #45 car as he mentors the young driver.
The original plans, however, were for another driver to be drafted into Busch's spot, as Hamlin revealed in the same conversation on the Door Bumper Clear podcast. Camping World Truck Series driver John Hunter Nemechek was hoping to get in the car, with the seat and pedals adjusted according to him in the car. Hamlin elaborated on the process of bringing Ty Gibbs in at the last minute and said:
“It was a complete clusterf**k, we didn’t know what we were doing. We must have changed the plan three times the night before the race because we had had protocols to put John Hunter (Nemechek) in. We had planned for John Hunter in January. We had him fitted in the car. We had his insert, how much he needs to be raised up, the pedals. We had all of our presets.”
Listen to the complete podcast below:
Denny Hamlin's thoughts on Ty Gibbs' preparedness for the NASCAR Cup Series
When Denny Hamlin was asked what he thought of Ty Gibbs' prior experience and his chances in the NASCAR Cup Series, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver went on to give his honest opinion on the topic, saying:
“I mean, the only way he’ll learn is by fire, I think the longer that you wait, the more you get behind us. In the Generation 6 car, we had the same basic car on the same tracks for a decade. A rookie had no chance to come in and beat us veterans that had been racing for years with the same car on the same track. We just had too many notes.”
Hamlin thinks throwing Gibbs in the deep end of the pool is the only way to prepare him for the Cup Series. Watch it happen as Gibbs drives Kurt Busch's #45 Monster Energy Toyota Camry TRD this weekend at the Michigan International Speedway.
