Ty Gibbs claims the Xfinity-to-Cup jump is ‘three times as hard’ as it has ever been due to Next-Gen car

P3 at Michigan is the best qualifying result Ty Gibbs has scored in 2023 since Talladega.

Ty Gibbs claims the Xfinity-to-Cup jump is ‘three times as hard’ as it has ever been due to Next-Gen car

Ty Gibbs (Credits: @JGR/Twitter)

Joe Gibbs Racing Cup series rookie Ty Gibbs has come forward, claiming that the Next-Gen cars have made the promotion from the second tier to the first tier harder than ever for rookie drivers. The 2022 Xfinity Series champion replaced two times Cup champion Kyle Busch at the start of this season, a move many deemed too early.

Joe Gibbs’ grandson has proved his doubters wrong with the impressive season that has already seen him lock in the Rookie of the Year title. His fellow rookie Noah Gragson has been having a poor debut with Legacy MC, and he was suspended ahead of the Michigan Cup race due to a social media controversy.

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Ty Gibbs will start Sunday’s race in MIS at P3 behind teammate and pole winner Christopher Bell and Ross Chastain of Trackhouse Racing. He is 17 off the 16 places Michael McDowell in the playoff bubble and will be hoping to secure the most points, if not a win, on Sunday. According to him, the major challenge is adjusting to the car, a struggle that has been doubled due to the introduction of Next-Gen cars.

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“It’s a mental game. Racing is really, really hard. Cup is really, really hard, and I think the Xfinity-to-Cup jump is three times as hard as it has ever been. You have a whole different car, and track position means more than anything, but I really enjoy it, and my team does a great job and works really hard. We have a great pit crew, and we’ll keep working hard,” Ty Gibbs said after the qualifiers.

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Ty Gibbs says he is confident about his team’s chances in FireKeepers Casino 400   

Ty Gibbs and Joe Gibbs
Ty Gibbs and Joe Gibbs (Credits: Sportscasting)

The front-row start has brought in a lot of confidence for the rookie driver who narrowly salvaged a good enough finish last week at Richmond. Gibbs added that he and the team need to step up. He said he is confident to race at the track where he won the Xfinity Series last year.

“I think for me and my team, we just have to execute every week. We didn’t really good last week, or I didn’t really do good last week, and we gained a bunch of points still. I’ve just got to do better than that, and I think we will have a better shot. I’ve got all the confidence in my team. I know they are bringing great race cars to the track, and we’ll see what we can do,” Gibbs said.

With four more races left in the season, the possibility of the rookie making the playoffs is low. This has nothing to do with his prowess but more with the champion drivers with superior experience fighting beside him. Still, JGR and Gibbs can pull off an upset on any given day.

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