Start of a new work week means the continuation of this countdown. Although the Rolex 24 is upcoming this weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series is 23Â Days to Daytona from being on track. Today, the #54 Joe Gibbs Racing team will be covered for the upcoming season. Off the back of an uncompetitive Rookie of the Year race, how will Ty Gibbs progress in 2024?
#54 Joe Gibbs Racing
Driver: Ty Gibbs
Crew Chief: Chris Gayle
Sponsors: Monster Energy, Interstate Batteries
2024 Season Preview
Taking the Next Step
2023 Rookie of the Year Ty Gibbs will be expected to make a significant jump in performance this season. Although no one is expecting Gibbs to jump ahead of his three JGR teammates, Gibbs will be expected to win at least one race. Gibbs did impress as the season wound down last year. His Bristol run was the highlight, as he ran Top-5 for most of the race. In JGR equipment, the grandson should be able to find victory lane. A road course or Toyota-strong track would be the likeliest spot for his first career win.
Make the Playoffs
Even if a win does not happen, the bare minimum expectation is for the 54 team to make the playoffs. A year hiatus from the playoffs was excused due to Ty Gibbs’ rookies status. However, the training wheels will be off. That means a playoff spot is the standard. Gibbs was the lone Toyota driver to miss the playoffs last year. While he is a young driver, Gibbs flashed the talent necessary to drive his way to the playoffs. What might hold Gibbs back is if NASCAR’s parity machine churns out 15 or 16 different winners. A win would take care of that though.
Did He Actually Mature?
A lot of credit was thrown Ty Gibbs’ way for the amount of maturity he demonstrated last year. In the Xfinity Series, Gibbs was known for his bratty behavior. It was a big question if that immaturity would transfer over to the Cup Series. Surprisingly, his Xfinity antics only popped up during the All-Star Open. With that said, the big difference between Gibbs in Xfinity and Cup was where he was running. Did Ty Gibbs actual mature or was he running too far down the order to cause drama? What happens when Gibbs runs up front? Could fans see a return of the villainous Ty Gibbs?
Daytona 500 Chances
In limited Cup action at Daytona, Ty Gibbs has yet to finish inside the Top-10. During last year’s summer race, Gibbs was racing up front before a bad push from Christopher Bell led Gibbs into the outside wall. In the Xfinity Series, Gibbs finished 11th and 7th in his 2 starts. Gibbs does have a superspeedway win in the Xfinity Series (Atlanta 2022). While it is too early to be definitive about his superspeedway skills, nothing has jumped out to fans that says Gibbs will be anything special on these tracks.
Speedweeks Outlook
For his lone Daytona 500, Gibbs put up a Top-20 qualifying run. However, Gibbs did qualify in the Top-5 for the Coke Zero 400 last year. With JGR equipment, Gibbs should be able to qualify well. Despite being a sophomore, Gibbs will likely use his duel race to get practice time in. Maybe that leads him to the front, but it also depends on which Toyota teammates are in his duel race. If Gibbs can keep the car clean, he will have a great shot to finish inside the Top-10 in the Great American Race.
Previous Days
40-36 Days: 40 – #12, 39 – #5, 38 – #24, 37 – #20, & 36 – #11
35-31 Days: 35 – #45, 34 – #17, 33 – #6, 32 – #1, & #31 – #9
30-26 Days:Â 30 – #19, 29 – #22, 28 – #4, 27 – #8, & 26 – #34
