Ty Gibbs has the NASCAR garage divided. Win races, and fans say the car did it. Struggle, and fans say he shouldn’t be there. It is a contradiction that has followed him since the day he showed up in a Joe Gibbs Racing machine with his grandfather’s name on the building. Now, someone from inside that building has had enough of staying quiet.
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“People have been hypercritical of him, and seeing everything behind the scenes, I think that’s unfair,” said Tony Hirschman of the No. 54 team.
Hirschman went further, saying exactly why Gibbs was never going to win the public argument.
“I think Ty is one of those guys who wasn’t going to win either way because he’s stepping into a Joe Gibbs Racing car,” Hirschman said. “If he goes out and wins eight races, everybody says, ‘Well, he’s in the best equipment, so he should.’ If he’s learning and not winning races, everybody says, ‘Well, he’s in the best equipment. Why isn’t he winning?’ I think he could’ve gone out and won 10 races and still been criticized.”
This frustration makes sense when you look at the Gibbs family history. Joe Gibbs started his NASCAR team in 1992. Before that, he was already a famous coach for the Washington football team, now known as the Commanders. Ty’s father, Coy Gibbs, served as the racing team’s COO and Vice Chairman. Sadly, Coy died in November 2022 at age 49. He passed away only hours after watching Ty win the Xfinity Series championship.
His mother, Heather, is a co-owner. His cousin Jackson changes tires on his pit crew. The family name is not just on the building. It is everywhere.
That visibility has a cost. When Ty Gibbs wrecked a teammate to win at Martinsville in 2022, Joe Gibbs had to be both team owner and grandfather at the same time. When Ty struggled during his Cup Series rookie year, critics claimed he only got the ride because of nepotism. People judged his mistakes much more harshly simply because of his last name.
However, his racing resume is often ignored by the critics. Ty won the ARCA championship in 2021 with 10 wins in 20 starts. He won the Xfinity Series in his first full season with seven race wins. He also won the Cup Series Rookie of the Year in 2023.
Finally, in April 2026, he secured his first career Cup Series win at Bristol Motor Speedway. He beat former champions Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson to earn that trophy.
Hirschman’s response to all the noise is simple. “That’s our approach as the No. 54 team. We’re just going to focus on our own deal.”
That focus is showing in the standings. Gibbs sits fourth in the Cup Series with 665 points, 227 above the playoff cutline with six races left in the regular season. His spot in the playoffs is secured. Denny Hamlin leads with 791 points, Tyler Reddick sits second at 767, and Ryan Blaney jumped to third at 726 after sweeping stages and winning at Atlanta.
Gibbs is right behind them, fourth in the sport, building a case that the last name is not the reason.