Welcome to FTW’s NASCAR Feud of the Week, where we provide a detailed breakdown of the latest absurd, funny and sometimes legitimate controversies and issues within the racing world.
It’s Ty Gibbs versus everybody in this latest edition of Feud of the Week. And we actually mean everybody — his teammate, his competitors, the fans in the grandstands at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday night, as well as those on the internet. Everybody.
And he got roasted by pretty much everybody.
The 20-year-old Xfinity Series driver has quickly gained a reputation for being a super aggressive driver who has no problem knocking other cars out of his way. Gibbs — who drives the No. 54 Toyota for his grandfather’s team, Joe Gibbs Racing — also got into an actual fist fight with another driver earlier this season.
Here’s a breakdown of how Gibbs won at Martinsville, how he and others reacted to his controversial bump of his teammate and all the ways the NASCAR world roasted him for his behavior.
Ty Gibbs' controversial race-winning move Saturday at Martinsville almost certainly earned him an abundance of new enemies.
In the final race in the second-tier series before next weekend’s championship event, Gibbs was running second behind teammate Brandon Jones in the third overtime. But instead of racing for a clean finish, Gibbs opted to punt Jones out of his way.
The move sent Jones into the short track’s outside wall.
Ty Gibbs WRECKS Brandon Jones to WIN at Martinsville!
Jones is eliminated from the #NASCARPlayoffs. pic.twitter.com/jWpU9LpxCX
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 29, 2022
More via NASCAR.com:
“It was definitely not a clean move, for sure,” Gibbs said. “I definitely didn’t want to wreck him, but I definitely wanted to move him out of the groove so I could go win. I felt like we lost the spring race getting moved by him.
“He’s my teammate, but definitely want to get the win here. It’s important to get the win. And now we’re going to the championship. It’s cool. Hopefully, I don’t get hit by any cans or anything right here.”
Before the Martinsville race ended, Gibbs had already advanced to next Saturday’s championship race at Phoenix Raceway. So had he not bumped his teammate out of the way, Jones could have won and automatically transferred into the title race. Instead, Gibbs’ move ruined Jones’ race and kept him from competing for a championship.
Next season, Jones is switching teams and will join Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Xfinity team, JR Motorsports, and he seems pretty excited to have new teammates.
“I had the race won, I think,” Jones told NBC Sports after the race, adding: “I’m excited to make my move to JRM next year and be a part of that organization. A little bit more respect probably given next year.”
"I'm excited to make my move to @JRMotorsports next year, be part of that organization. A little bit more respect probably given."@BrandonJonesRac on Ty Gibbs' move to win. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/CuG4nmEIq3
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 29, 2022
But Jones wasn't the only one to criticize Gibbs.
Noah Gragson — a JR Motorsports driver who will compete against Gibbs for the championship next weekend — was praising Jones after the race when he referred to the No. 19 Toyota driver’s organization as Ty Gibbs Racing instead of Joe Gibbs Racing before correcting himself.
“@BrandonJonesRac in the Ty Gibbs Racing, I mean Joe Gibbs Racing, car did a great job.” – @NoahGragson pic.twitter.com/VQ6wof7ewY
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 30, 2022
Great job tonight by @BrandonJonesRac! I know EVERYONE is really excited to have him over at @JRMotorsports next year, including the DRIVERS and to have him apart of the jrm FAMILY. https://t.co/MOWu3bJxIE
— Noah Gragson (@NoahGragson) October 29, 2022
Cup Series driver Erik Jones weighed in too, along with retired driver Clint Bowyer.
Hope that race isn’t taken as an example by anyone coming up racing as how it’s supposed to be done.
— Erik Jones (@Erik_Jones) October 29, 2022
Class used to mean something. 🤷♂️
— Clint Bowyer (@ClintBowyer) October 29, 2022
And the crowd at Martinsville Speedway piled on as well.
After Gibbs won the race, the Martinsville crowd erupted with boos as the No. 54 car driver climbed out. And he seemed to welcome them in a Kyle Busch-esque kind of way.
Ty Gibbs gets BOOED HARD.
The fans don't like his move to win. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/fYSQRuJwEF
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 29, 2022
Fans who stuck around after the checkered flag also taunted Gibbs with “Thank you, Grandpa!” chants, according to The Athletic‘s Jordan Bianchi.
Fans chanting "Thank you, grandpa" to Ty Gibbs as he celebrates in victory lane. pic.twitter.com/bPGgePBGs8
— Jordan Bianchi (@Jordan_Bianchi) October 29, 2022
So if you’re keeping track, Gibbs was roasted by his soon-to-be former teammate, his championship competition and the fans in the grandstands.
Oh, but there's more.
Gibbs’ reaction and defense of his bump afterward didn’t help anything either. When he was later asked about the Martinsville crowd booing him, he compared himself with Jesus.
💭 "Jesus was hated first and among all the people. That's a part of it […] silencing out the crowd."
🗣️ On @SiriusXMNASCAR with @ClaireBLang, @TyGibbs discusses getting booed by fans following his #DeadOnTools250 win @MartinsvilleSwy. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/6Idulbkf8F
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) October 29, 2022
Gibbs told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio:
“I always go back to the same verse that Jesus was hated first and among all the people, so that’s a part of it, I feel like, just, you know, silencing out the crowd. I feel like that’s what you have to do as a professional athlete. I feel like some of the best people are going to get booed, and that’s part of life. You can’t let other people’s opinions and thoughts drive your actions and make you feel bad or anything. It’s part of life.”
And that didn’t sit well with a lot of fans.
So after a wild and controversial Martinsville race, Gibbs was roasted by NASCAR Twitter — for his move, his attitude and his Jesus comparison.
I just lost all respect for Ty Gibbs. I totally agree with @JeffBurton @SteveLetarte not good !
— Todd Bodine (Official) (@Team_Onion) October 29, 2022
Did Ty Gibbs win? Yes he did.
Are Ty Gibbs and Brandon Jones teammates at JGR? Yes they are.
Did Brandon Jones already turn in his two-week notice at JGR? Yes he did.#NASCAR #XfinitySeries
— nascarcasm (@nascarcasm) October 29, 2022
I’m like 99% sure Jesus didn’t wreck Paul the Apostle coming to the checkered… https://t.co/iStV2HRLmK
— Ken Childs (@TheKenChilds) October 30, 2022
imagine being locked into the next round of the playoffs, punting your race-leading teammate, eliminating them from the playoffs, and then comparing yourself to Jesus Christ https://t.co/h904lTLTAX
— Crotch Johnson (@doctorspiceyy) October 30, 2022
I’m disappointed in you @TyGibbs .. signed a @NASCAR fan.
— Marcus Lemonis (@marcuslemonis) October 29, 2022
Gragson: calls it the “No. 19 Ty Gibbs Racing I mean Joe Gibbs Racing team”
Berry: “I guess Brandon [Jones] will be Team JRM one week early.”Rare you see something on a racetrack so universally disliked as Championship Four-guaranteed Gibbs wrecking win-needing BJones to win.
— 🔥Fireball Turnbull 🚁 (@DougTurnbull) October 29, 2022
WHAT 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 https://t.co/csLjdLXWV5
— ★PJ Payne★ (@RenegadePRD14) October 30, 2022
oh BROTHER https://t.co/b3oJ8BFwwO
— Jo🥑🕰️ (@bed_jartlet98) October 30, 2022
Ty Gibbs be like https://t.co/do9eshr89Z
— /// Leuel48Fan (@Leuel48Fan) October 29, 2022
If I’m Brandon Jones, Ty Gibbs ain’t winning this damn championship
— Justin Champagne (@ChampagneRacin) October 29, 2022
Am I nuts or did this kid just compare himself to Jesus? https://t.co/NtOT9jhvUT
— Seriously Fast Media (@Seriously_Fast) October 30, 2022
Ty Gibbs is an embarrassment, zero class, zero respect. Unreal man.
— Bradley Sisson (@BradSisson4) October 29, 2022
Jesus Christ somewhere in heaven whenever Ty Gibbs starts comparing himself to him in front of the Nascar media https://t.co/9RdZeVObGx pic.twitter.com/CIHY3ipLwS
— Sko Colorado 🇪🇸🍂 (@SkoColorado) October 30, 2022
brandon jones and ty gibbs next week pic.twitter.com/BCjok1tbpo
— NASCAR Memes (@NASCAR_Memes_) October 29, 2022
ty gibbs doesn’t understand that there’s a difference between being the villain and everyone just hating you
— 🎃🔪 (@cobradiazz) October 29, 2022
alright, I'll live with a lot of the stuff Ty Gibbs says, because most of it is boilerplate Jesus stuff and I will never hate on a guy for his faith, but this is a clown quote. https://t.co/Jfhq5Ppa5A
— Will Stone (@will_herb_stone) October 30, 2022
Literally everyone hates Ty Gibbs LMFAO pic.twitter.com/Y4AhpoStfc
— bejeweled💎 (@jul13_48) October 29, 2022
Did @nascarcasm write this? https://t.co/c16deNRw70
— Caleb (@calebgoodman91) October 30, 2022
If you’re religious or not, it doesn’t matter, you can’t compare yourself to Jesus. This kid is unreal 🤦🏻♂️ https://t.co/aiR8zVTOqu
— Mark DiMauro Jr. (@Mark_DiMauro40) October 30, 2022
Ty Gibbs literally compared himself to Jesus on Sirius XM. WTF #NASCAR
— Daniel Kriete (@DanielKriete4) October 29, 2022
