Through the first 14 weeks of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, Ty Gibbs was billed as one of the top drivers in the series. While he’s still a viable contender, the No. 54 team has noticeably cooled off in recent weeks, which could be a cause for concern.
Gibbs climbed as high as second in points after the fifth race of the season at Bristol, and collected eight top-10 finishes in the first 14 races of 2024. After a rookie season where Gibbs missed the Cup Series playoffs in 2023, his hot start to 2024 was a welcome, albeit unexpected sign.
However, Gibbs only has one top-15 finish the last four races, and while Nashville provides an excellent opportunity for him to notch his first Cup Series victory, it’s a race that could prove crucial in turning his summer around if he’s able to place in the top-10.
After a solid 11th-place run in St. Louis, an early crash forced Gibbs into a 37th place finish at Sonoma. One week later at Iowa, Gibbs suffered the same fate as his teammate Denny Hamlin, as both Joe Gibbs Racing drivers were stuck with horrendously slow cars. Gibbs ended his day at Iowa in 25th, and followed that up with an equally uninspiring 16th-place finish at New Hampshire.
While Sonoma was simply a case of Gibbs making a mistake, the other three races in this tough four-race span all seem to have the same culprit behind them – a simple lack of speed. Once flowing through the No. 54 team’s side of the shop like milk and honey, Gibbs has been given little speed to work with over the past four races.
Gibbs currently sits 13th on the playoff grid, 82 points above the cut line, but if a new winner were to strike in the next few races, he could be in danger of being on the playoff bubble. A win isn’t crucial to Gibbs making the postseason field, but Nashville needs to be a race where the No. 54 team is focused on simply finding speed again.
In 2023, Gibbs brought home a 14th place finish at Nashville. While that certainly wouldn’t be a terrible result, it falls well below the expectations set by both Gibbs and the entire Joe Gibbs Racing organization.
Sunday’s Ally 400 will go green shortly after 3:30 p.m. ET, with coverage being provided on NBC, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
