By Dustin Albino

The worst kept secret in the NASCAR Xfinity Series garage is out, as Ty Gibbs will run the full season in the No. 54 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. 

Chris Gayle, who won 11 races as a crew chief in 2021 with the No. 54 team, will return to crew chief Gibbs.

“I‘m excited to get going on the 2022 season,” Gibbs said in a team statement. “Monster Energy will sponsor the majority of the races, including the first one at Daytona and it‘s great to have Interstate Batteries and Sport Clips on board. Chris Gayle and the crew guys from the 54 were great last year and hopefully we can have even more success this year.”

Gibbs, 19, won four of his 18 starts in his first stab at competing in the Xfinity Series last year. That included becoming just the sixth time in series history to win in his debut race, coming last February at the Daytona International Speedway road course. 

Through his first three races, Gibbs earned all top five finishes. His second triumph of the year came at Charlotte Motor Speedway in late May. At Watkins Glen International, he outlasted road course aces AJ Allmendinger and Austin Cindric. His final checkered flag of the year came at Kansas Speedway, passing the No. 22 car with 11 laps remaining.

Gibbs joins Brandon Jones as the full-time drivers for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series. Trevor Bayne and Drew Dollar have been announced for races in the team’s No. 18 entry.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *