Ty Gibbs privately accuses two of his TRD teammates of “using him up pretty bad,” at the Indy cup race
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Bubba Wallace, Kyle Busch Ty Gibbs , and Denny Hamlin
Ty Gibbs has been making waves in the second division of NASCAR, the Xfinity series, this year as he made his mark from being the driver that’s winning races due to his grandfather’s money to someone who has the real championship potential in him. Ty Gibbs has already made two impressive cup outings so far replacing 23X1 Racing veteran Kurt Busch who was out for a concussion he suffered at Pocono.
With two top 20 finishes in the No:45 Camry and same time has also produced some impressive runs in the Xfinity Series for Joe Gibbs Racing Xfinity team, owned by his Grandfather Joe Gibbs, and now is a definite championship contender against the likes of Noah Gregson, Justin Allgaier, and AJ Allmendinger.
Now in a recent episode of Door Bumper Podcast, which is co-hosted by Bubba Wallace’s spotter Freddie Kraft, 23X1 Racing Co-owner and No:11 JGR driver Denny Hamlin was the primary guest where the boss man revealed the conversation he had with young Gibbs where he accused two of his fellow TRD drivers of using him up and costing spots at Indy.
Find out what Denny Hamlin and Freddie Kraft said
Freddie Kraft, who has been the entrusted spotter for Bubba Wallace for many years, acknowledged that Ty Gibbs’s substitute runs have been exciting and impressive so far but pointed out that the transition from Xfinity car to Cup car has diminished his natural aggressiveness. He added that Ty Gibbs should have finished five places ahead in Indy if he had fought with more intensity.
“I thought Ty was running well. I thought he was a little too nice to some people. Like, a guy’s got a position on him, he kind of like gave it to him, instead of I think if it were an Xfinity car, he probably would have fought a little harder. I think he could have run five spots better than where he finished,” Freddie Kraft said.
Denny Hamlin, the 23X1 co-owner, interrupted the conversation and pointed out that Bubba Wallace might be among one of the TRD drivers that used him for the spots saying, “I think y’all were one of them. I think y’all used him up,”. “Did we?” asked Freddie Kraft after hearing his boss’s opinion.
Replying to Kraft, Denny Hamlin revealed that Ty Gibbs has told him that how has lost three or four spots here in the race and pointed out that the two drivers that used him up pretty bad were the No:23 driver and his teammate Bubba Wallace and the most prominent Toyota driver on the grid No:18 JGR driver Kyle Busch, whom Gibbs might or might not replace next year.
“Even after the race, he nitpicks like, ‘I lost three spots here and four spots here…And he’s like, ‘The 23 and 18 used me up pretty bad,’” Denny Hamlin recollected Ty Gibbs telling him.
To which Freddie Kraft gave a joking reply saying, “Really? That must have been out of my zone,” prompting a laugh in the studio where they have been filming the podcast.
Denny Hamlin went on to express his opinion on what he sees ahead for Ty Gibbs in the cup series, pointing out that there will be a few tough years for the youngster as the Xfinity Series and cup series have this huge difference which presents a huge constraint on him. He added that he can only get better in the cup series by having a project and by trial by fire.
“It’s going to be rough for a few years and I try to tell Ty that, ‘Dude, the fence between Xfinity and Cup is a really tall one. These guys don’t screw around over here. You miss one corner, the difference between qualifying 10th and 25th. Xfinity Series you’re going to go as far back as 12th. It’s going to be a project. It’s going to take some time for sure but I think trial by fire is the best way,” Denny Hamlin said.
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Justin P Joy
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