Ty Gibbs readies for first NASCAR Cup Series playoff run

When the green flag flies at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon to start the NASCAR playoffs, Ty Gibbs will be looking to become just the second driver in the modern era of NASCAR to win the Cup Series championship in his second season of competition.

The man whose feat he’ll be looking to replicate? None other than seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt, who won the Winston Cup in 1980 for Rod Osterlund.

The 21-year-old Gibbs may have royal racing blood in his veins as the grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, but that hasn’t made his path to the postseason any easier.

Gibbs was a victim of a rash of Toyota engine failures over the summer, and a valve spring issue at Pocono relegated him to the playoff bubble at a pivotal moment in the Cup Series playoff hunt.

Despite the setbacks, Gibbs forged on, clinching a playoff berth in Sunday’s Southern 500 despite a 20th-place finish.

As the gauntlet of the postseason begins, Gibbs isn’t considered a favorite, mainly due to the lack of playoff points that have him seeded 16th out of 16 playoff drivers.

But with an experienced team and a talented young driver, anything is possible for a No. 54 team that has largely overachieved in 2024. A white-hot start for Gibbs gave way to a middling summer, but the hard part is out of the way; Gibbs has made the playoff field, and with the points reset, the championship truly can go to any of the 16 drivers in the field.

The biggest downfall for young drivers in their maiden playoff voyages is usually a lack of postseason experience, but Gibbs is no stranger to stepping up in big moments. In the midst of a heated Xfinity Series championship battle in 2022 with rival Noah Gragson, it was Gibbs who came out on top at Phoenix to claim the title.

Most second-year drivers don’t succeed in the playoffs — if they make them at all — but then again, most second-year drivers aren’t Ty Gibbs, either.

The Charlotte, N.C., native has proven time and time again that he’s different from the other prospects around him. With the Bill France Championship trophy glittering at the end of a long playoff tunnel, Gibbs has the chance to make history, and further etch the Gibbs family name into the walls of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.