Ty Gibbs laments P3 finish at Michigan as JGR teammate Denny Hamlin claims victory

Despite a strong P3 finish at the recently concluded Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway, Ty Gibbs was far from happy. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who is still in search of his first NASCAR Cup career victory, stated that a victory was more important than finishing third.

Gibbs, who started the race from eighth place, came home in third place, behind Chris Buescher. He improved remarkably as the race progressed (26th in Stage 1, 20th in Stage 2, and third in Stage 3).

The #54 driver was running third for a long time and was saving fuel. As a result, he had to yield in front of his teammate, Denny Hamlin. With this, the #11 driver claimed his third win of the season, whereas Ty Gibbs is still in search of one.

"Wish we could have got one," Gibbs said in the post-race interview. "That was not the option with the fuel spot from where we were in. Just very unfortunate. It's just unfortunate, because I feel like we had the capability to go do it. I feel like we showed we were fast enough to go do it. It's definitely frustrating, but it's just part of it sometimes."

"I think a win is more important than third, It's good to have a good finish, for sure. Good to have a good day, a good comeback. We started off just very horrible. Glad we could come back and got better. Thanks to my team for sticking behind me," the JGR driver further added.

Besides Hamlin, Christopher Bell, another Joe Gibbs Racing driver, claimed three race wins coming into this season. Chase Briscoe, the fourth JGR driver, had no luck in 2025, a fate he shares with Ty Gibbs.

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How did fuel affect Ty Gibbs and co at the Michigan Cup Series race?

Denny Hamlin races against Chris Buescher during the NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 race on June 8, 2025, at the Michigan International Speedway - Source: Getty Images

The fuel played an important role at the FireKeepers Casino 400 at the Michigan International Speedway on Sunday. Several drivers, such as Denny Hamlin, William Byron, and, of course, Ty Gibbs, were affected by it.

While Denny Hamlin has been the driver who claimed the benefit of it, Byron lost out on a huge deal. The Hendrick Motorsports driver was leading the race before running out of gas with one and a half laps to go.

In the end, the #24 HMS star finished his race in 28th place. Gibbs, as mentioned, was another driver who had to manage his fuel to cross the finish line. In doing so, he helplessly saw his teammate, Hamlin, pass him for the win, and Chris Buescher take second place.