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Ty Gibbs has made The Jump.
The 23-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing driver entered the NASCAR Cup Series as an uber-hyped prospect in 2023. He barely missed the playoffs that first season, snuck in during his second campaign and fell just short again last year.
He had never won a race.
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But since the start of 2026, Gibbs has fulfilled his promise. He locked down his second victory during the Iowa Corn 350 on Aug. 9 at Iowa Speedway, pacing the pack for 20 laps and holding off his hard-charging teammate, Christopher Bell, in the closing moments.
“This year has been a lot of fun,” Gibbs said afterward.
Here are three takeaways.
There’s plenty of evidence surrounding Gibbs’ development.
A year ago, he held the 16th position in the standings. After his Iowa win, he’s up to second this season, seven points in front of Ryan Blaney.
Gibbs trails leader Denny Hamlin by 103 points with three weeks to go in the regular season.
“It was a really great day for us,” Gibbs said. “Scored a lot of points in the last few races. I think we were a high-stage-point guy. To be able to finish it off today was awesome ... I’ve been in contention at a lot of these, and it’s been so much fun this year, so just keep working hard.”
He has ranked inside the top four in four of the last six races.
Bell has not yet won a race this season. But he’s been close — often.
At Iowa, he finished second for the seventh time this year. He’s placed as the runner-up in four of the last five weeks, including the last two. That streak has propelled him to sixth in the standings.
Last year, Bell won four races. He wasn’t pleased after Sunday’s outing.
“This is what you call a bad second-place finish, for sure,” Bell said. “I don’t know. I don’t know what else to say. Ty did a really good job. He did a great job managing the race. I could tell that he was slipping and sliding around. Similar to two weeks ago with Corey Heim, he just didn’t make a mistake.”
After last week’s break, NASCAR will now race every weekend through the crowning of a champion in November.
Next up: the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway.
And the man to beat: Austin Dillon.
Yes, the driver who resides 27th in points will be the hunted at Richmond, where he’s claimed the last two races. He led 107 laps during the 2025 event, so it was no fluke.
This year’s race will receive the green flag at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 15. It will air on USA Network.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR takeaways: Ty Gibbs up to second in standings with Iowa win
Continue reading...
The 23-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing driver entered the NASCAR Cup Series as an uber-hyped prospect in 2023. He barely missed the playoffs that first season, snuck in during his second campaign and fell just short again last year.
He had never won a race.
Buy our Dale Earnhardt book here
But since the start of 2026, Gibbs has fulfilled his promise. He locked down his second victory during the Iowa Corn 350 on Aug. 9 at Iowa Speedway, pacing the pack for 20 laps and holding off his hard-charging teammate, Christopher Bell, in the closing moments.
“This year has been a lot of fun,” Gibbs said afterward.
Here are three takeaways.
1. With second win, Ty Gibbs vaults up NASCAR standings
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There’s plenty of evidence surrounding Gibbs’ development.
A year ago, he held the 16th position in the standings. After his Iowa win, he’s up to second this season, seven points in front of Ryan Blaney.
Gibbs trails leader Denny Hamlin by 103 points with three weeks to go in the regular season.
“It was a really great day for us,” Gibbs said. “Scored a lot of points in the last few races. I think we were a high-stage-point guy. To be able to finish it off today was awesome ... I’ve been in contention at a lot of these, and it’s been so much fun this year, so just keep working hard.”
He has ranked inside the top four in four of the last six races.
2. Christopher Bell keeps finishing second
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Bell has not yet won a race this season. But he’s been close — often.
At Iowa, he finished second for the seventh time this year. He’s placed as the runner-up in four of the last five weeks, including the last two. That streak has propelled him to sixth in the standings.
Last year, Bell won four races. He wasn’t pleased after Sunday’s outing.
“This is what you call a bad second-place finish, for sure,” Bell said. “I don’t know. I don’t know what else to say. Ty did a really good job. He did a great job managing the race. I could tell that he was slipping and sliding around. Similar to two weeks ago with Corey Heim, he just didn’t make a mistake.”
3. NASCAR schedule marches on with Richmond race
After last week’s break, NASCAR will now race every weekend through the crowning of a champion in November.
Next up: the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway.
And the man to beat: Austin Dillon.
Yes, the driver who resides 27th in points will be the hunted at Richmond, where he’s claimed the last two races. He led 107 laps during the 2025 event, so it was no fluke.
This year’s race will receive the green flag at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 15. It will air on USA Network.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR takeaways: Ty Gibbs up to second in standings with Iowa win
Continue reading...
