By Seth Eggert, Associate Editor
A broken transmission typically is a race-ender for most drivers, but Ty Gibbs managed to power through to score his first top-five of the NASCAR Cup Series season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Gibbs had to fight his way through several obstacles throughout the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube. Early in the race the Joe Gibbs Racing driver had contact with eventual race winner, Kyle Larson, on pit road. That was followed by a disastrously slow pit stop. Then, the young driver encountered transmission issues.
During the final pit stops, Gibbs had to use more clutch than the typical pit stops to get his No. 54 Toyota Camry XSE moving. Despite all of the issues, he maneuvered his way back into the top-10 in the closing laps.
In the final 27-lap run to the finish, Gibbs battled with Noah Gragson for fifth. The duo swapped the spot back and forth for several laps. With under 10 laps to go Gibbs finally broke away from the Ford Performance driver to take the checkered flag in fifth.
“I stuck us in a hole there and we broke the transmission, which is kind of unfortunate that has to happen, that’s just part of it and we fought back,” Gibbs explained. “I put my team in a hole there. No excuses. And we just fought back, and my team gave me a really great He Gets Us Camry XSE this weekend and we drove back to the front. So, just need a little bit more to get to the lead so we can go get a win, but really happy with my team.”
After starting eighth, Gibbs maintained his position throughout the first Stage of the race. He finished the Stage in sixth, scoring an additional five points.
The fifth-place finish marked Gibbs’ first top-five of the season and his first in the updated Camry XSE. It also marked his fifth top-five of his Cup Series career.
“(I’m) really happy (with the new car),” Gibbs said. “Really excited about what our car is capable of. I feel really happy about what we have.”
After earning his best finish on an intermediate track, Gibbs moved up from 14th to ninth in the points standings, 31 behind leader Larson. He is also 19-points above the playoff cutline, currently held by fellow Toyota Racing driver John Hunter Nemechek.
Next for Gibbs is the Shriner’s Childrens 500 at Phoenix Raceway. He has a best finish of 21st in two career starts at the 1-mile track.
Shriner’s Childrens 500 at Phoenix is scheduled for Sunday, March 10 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX. The race will also be broadcast on Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.