“What the hell? One lane, there’s no f-ing lane!” Ty Gibbs screamed on his team radio shortly after bumping into Ryan Preece after making his stop at Michigan. While it seemed natural, Gibbs was targeted by some for his behavior towards the team. However, as a former Hendrick Motorsports insider analyzed the entire situation, Gibbs’ anger toward his team seemed more justified.

Ty Gibbs’ Michigan crashout validated

“This really all comes down to a variety of pit choices and two tires versus four tires,” Steve Letarte explained. While most of the discussion remained focused on Gibbs and how he exited the pit, Letarte brought an interesting perspective to the conversation.

Analyzing footage from Preece’s perspective, Letarte explained how two crew members on the #54 pit were still standing on the right side. Crews change right tires first, then left, so Preece assumed the 54 wasn’t leaving yet. As per Letarte, he did not expect the #54 to come out of the pits anytime soon, and turned in a bit early for his stop.

“Drivers are programmed; they’ve done this so much that when the pit crew is on the left side, they know that that stop is about done. If the pit crew is on the right side, even though it may be two tires, drivers don’t think that, nor should they. At this point, Preece isn’t really looking at the 54. Preece is looking ahead because, remind you, he’s trying to get into this stall up here,” Letarte explained.

Taking further blame away from Gibbs’ return to the pit road and almost vindicating his frustration with the team, Letarte also explained how the whole incident could have been avoided if the #54 crew had been placed on the other side of the car.

“If they are on the left side of the 54, he naturally expects Ty Gibbs to be leaving. He probably checks up a little bit, crosses right behind his rear bumper, and enters the pit box.”

Despite the vindication, Gibbs’ day unraveled after the pit stop.

Neither Preece nor Gibbs had a strong race. Although Preece did show some strong pace, he was involved in a late-race incident, which ended his run. Gibbs had already found himself in an incident, being one of the drivers who were involved in the chain reaction on lap 83 that Carson Hocevar triggered. Moreover, he was lapped before retiring. Overall, his day didn’t end too well despite the promising pace he showcased earlier in the race.

This is Gibbs’ best season in years. He finally managed to end his drought with a victory at Bristol and has been regularly competing at the top of the field. Apart from that, he has finished in the top 10 eight times already. So understandably, it was frustrating for him when the team made that mistake.