Ty Gibbs’ maiden race win came as a surprise. While he has improved massively this year, he wasn’t expected to even be in winning contention at Bristol. But now that he did manage to achieve that victory, his grandfather and team owner, Joe Gibbs, dropped the name of a NASCAR legend, who stepped away from the sport years ago, but as it seems, has been making some unseen contribution in Ty Gibbs’ career.
NASCAR legend named behind Ty Gibbs’ success
“Cole Pearn has meant so much to us. Tony, our spotter. And I think the great thing about that group, which I really appreciate, they really do like Ty and they believe in him,” Joe Gibbs told the media after the race. While it was nothing out of the ordinary, Cole Pearn’s name was not expected.
He is one of the most legendary crew chiefs to have stepped into NASCAR. His most notable achievement was winning the Cup Series championship back in 2017. But it was more than that. He didn’t win it with a massive operation like JGR or even Hendrick Motorsports, but with Furniture Row Racing, bringing in Martin Truex Jr’s only title win with eight race wins. Pearn stepped away from NASCAR in 2019 to spend more time with his family.
Now that he is assisting with Ty Gibbs’ Cup Series stint, it is quite apparent that he has managed to bring a massive improvement to the table, winning his first Cup race.
“I think we got people around him that really, really care, and they’ve been so supportive, and everybody in here knows what it takes to win a race like this. And for somebody that’s 23, I mean, it’s just a huge deal for all of us. And you go through so much,” Joe Gibbs added.
While this was a great moment of pride for the entire team and Joe Gibbs celebrated it in his highest spirits, there was someone whom Ty Gibbs missed not having to celebrate with.
Gibbs pays tribute to his late father after race win
“It’s awesome to be with great people,” Ty Gibbs said. “To be in this position is great. I’d love for my father to have seen this. I knew he knew it was going to happen and expected it as well.”
His father, Coy Gibbs, passed away in his sleep on November 6, 2022. This was the same night when Ty Gibbs won the 2022 Xfinity Series championship. It was apparent that moving on from that and now winning his first Cup Series race, Ty missed his father.
Gibbs comes from a family of racers. While this has certainly helped him frame his NASCAR career with his grandfather’s team, he has been accused of nepotism. Despite the impressive results that he has pulled off at grassroots levels, Ty always found himself surrounded by these allegations.
But finally, with a massive improvement in his overall performance, Ty Gibbs finally seems to be overcoming the allegations. Including his race win, he has finished within the top six in the last six consecutive races. This has been an incredible feat for him, and although this does not put him in a strong title contention just yet, he seems all prepared for the future.
