Denny Hamlin went to bat for Ty Gibbs before the Bristol Motor Speedway race, saying the 23-year-old feels “as locked in as ever” as he continues to find his footing in NASCAR’s top series.
Hamlin said Gibbs is building confidence with every start and is learning what he needs to feel when he returns to familiar tracks. “I think he’s just getting more confident with the amount of starts that he’s getting now. He’s understanding what he needs to feel when he comes back to these racetracks. I think the experience is finally catching up,” Hamlin said.
The praise lands at a useful moment for Gibbs, who has put together five top-ten finishes in the last seven races and has shown sharper pace than the season-opening results suggested. He posted an average Driver Rating of 88.6 this year, then turned in a 118.4 rating at Martinsville, a sign that the speed is showing up more often in a Cup Series career that began in 2023.
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That debut came with a large spotlight. Gibbs replaced two-time champion Kyle Busch in 2023 and stepped into the seat as the grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, a combination that made every slow start look bigger than it might for most young drivers. He now has 131 Cup Series starts and still has not won a race, a number that has followed him through each round of progress.
Even so, the shape of his season has changed. Gibbs went from 33rd in the Driver’s Standings to five consecutive top-ten finishes, a recovery that suggests the results are finally matching the expectation around him. The question now is whether that run can survive the harder circuits and the pressure that comes with trying to turn speed into a first victory.
Bristol offers the next test, and Hamlin’s defense suggests the tone around Gibbs has shifted from doubt to patience. If the recent stretch is any guide, the next step is less about whether Gibbs belongs in the conversation and more about when that first Cup win finally arrives.
