Apologetic Ty Gibbs Ends Dominant Playoff Run with NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship

• Ty Gibbs is the fourth Xfinity champion for his grandfather Joe Gibbs' team, after Kyle Busch in 2009, Daniel Suarez in 2016, and Daniel Hemric last year.

• After the win, Gibbs didn’t let a moment pass without apologizing for wrecking teammate Brandon Jones en route to winning at Martinsville last weekend.

• In fact, Gibbs seemed almost more interested in that mistake than in winning the championship.

There were times Saturday night at Phoenix when Ty Gibbs looked capable of winning the Xfinity Series title by lapping the field. There also were times when he looked like he might finish anywhere other than the front in the Xfinity Championship 200.

At the end, the 20-year-old grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs emerged from a brilliant three-car battle down the stretch to win by 0.397 seconds and, with it, the fourth Xfinity title for Joe Gibbs Racing. Gibbs battled past fellow contenders Justin Allgaier and Noah Gragson in the latter laps even as Gragson got within two car-lengths over the final four laps.

At the checkered, Gibbs was barely ahead of Gragson, with Allgaier, Landon Cassill, A.J. Allmendinger, Sheldon Creed, Riley Herbst, Daniel Hemric, Austin Hill, and Sammy Smith farther back. The victory was Gibbs’s seventh this year and 11th all-time after being last year’s Rookie of the Year. He’s the fourth Xfinity champion for his grandfather’s team, after Kyle Busch in 2009, Daniel Suarez in 2016, and Hemric last year.

After starting from the pole, Gibbs was never even remotely challenged in leading all 45 laps in Stage 1. He needed only a handful of laps to build a three-second lead halfway through the stage, then easily pulled away on the restart after the day’s first caution for Brandon Brown’s spin at lap 34. All told, he led seven times for 125 of the 200 laps, including the final 21.

He restarted fifth after the Stage 1 caution and needed less than two laps to regain the lead and build it again. He stayed in front for much of Stage 2 until Smith, Gragson, and Allgaier came to the front and finally turned the rout into a classic four-car battle for the lead. Gragson led twice for 35 laps and Allgaier four times for 26. (Nobody else led more than 10).

Gibbs looked vulnerable much of the third stage, fighting hard with Allgaier, Gragson, and Sammy Smith. They swapped the lead seven times between lap 100 and 180, often running three-wide. After dominating so much of the first half that it seemed a breeze, Gibbs showed masterful skill and patience toward the end, when his dream run turned difficult.

Almost certainly prompted by his father, Coy, and grandfather, Gibbs didn’t let a moment pass without apologizing for wrecking teammate Brandon Jones en route to winning at Martinsville last weekend. He seemed more interested in that mistake than in what he had just done

“I know what I did was unacceptable, and I apologize once again,” he said before talking about winning Saturday night. “It was unacceptable because we could have had two shots to win this deal (he took Jones out of championship contention) and it was stupid from an organization standpoint.

“I will sit here and tell you I’m sorry as much as I can, but it is not going to fix it. I’ve got to fix my actions. I feel like today I had a good race. We made some good moves. Me and (Allgaier) were racing really hard. Hopefully we put on a good show for the fans. I don’t want to be the one with the boos (but) I’m the one that put myself in that position. But I don't want this championship to be remembered for boos; I want it to be remembered for hard work and our team.

“Thanks to the fans, even though I don't have that many of them. Hopefully, I earned some respect back and we'll move on.”

Results

NASCAR Xfinity Series

24th Annual NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race

Phoenix Raceway

(Championship 4 Qualifiers in Bold)

1. (1) Ty Gibbs (P), Toyota, 200.

2. (4) Noah Gragson (P), Chevrolet, 200.

3. (11) Justin Allgaier (P), Chevrolet, 200.

4. (6) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 200.

5. (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 200.

6. (8) Sheldon Creed #, Chevrolet, 200.

7. (19) Riley Herbst, Ford, 200.

8. (10) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 200.

9. (14) Austin Hill #, Chevrolet, 200.

10. (2) Sammy Smith, Toyota, 200.

11. (5) Brandon Jones, Toyota, 200.

12. (3) Nicholas Sanchez, Chevrolet, 200.

13. (9) Josh Berry (P), Chevrolet, 200.

14. (35) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 200.

15. (30) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 200.

16. (21) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 200.

17. (37) Rajah Caruth(i), Chevrolet, 200.

18. (33) Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, 200.

19. (20) Bayley Currey, Chevrolet, 200.

20. (7) Ryan Sieg, Ford, 200.

21. (17) Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet, 200.

22. (22) Kyle Sieg #, Ford, 200.

23. (18) Kaz Grala(i), Toyota, 200.

24. (25) Joey Gase, Toyota, 200.

25. (36) Myatt Snider, Chevrolet, 200.

26. (31) Kris Wright(i), Chevrolet, 200.

27. (28) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 200.

28. (15) Stefan Parsons(i), Chevrolet, 199.

29. (26) Brennan Poole(i), Chevrolet, 198.

30. (29) JJ Yeley, Ford, 197.

31. (32) Dawson Cram, Ford, 196.

32. (24) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 196.

33. (34) Mason Massey, Chevrolet, 196.

34. (13) Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, 195.

35. (23) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 194.

36. (38) Joe Graf Jr, Ford, 193.

37. (27) Brandon Brown, Ford, Suspension, 154.

38. (12) Dillon Bassett, Chevrolet, Engine, 152.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 91.174 mph.

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 11 Mins, 37 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.397 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 8 for 49 laps.

Lead Changes: 15 among 5 drivers.

Lap Leaders: T. Gibbs (P) 1-49;N. Sanchez 50-53;S. Smith 54;T. Gibbs (P) 55-65;S. Smith 66-74;N. Gragson (P) 75-78;T. Gibbs (P) 79-94;J. Allgaier (P) 95-99;T. Gibbs (P) 100-116;N. Gragson (P) 117-147;J. Allgaier (P) 148-159;T. Gibbs (P) 160-169;J. Allgaier (P) 170-176;T. Gibbs (P) 177;J. Allgaier (P) 178-179;T. Gibbs (P) 180-200.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Ty Gibbs (P) 7 times for 125 laps; Noah Gragson (P) 2 times for 35 laps; Justin Allgaier (P) 4 times for 26 laps; Sammy Smith 2 times for 10 laps; Nicholas Sanchez 1 time for 4 laps.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 54,9,7,8,10,2,48,18,19,16

Stage #2 Top Ten: 54,7,9,18,10,1,19,16,2,8