MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- While one Joe Gibbs Racing driver celebrated a win, another left Martinsville Speedway frustrated. Ty Gibbs had missed out on another top-10 finish amid a season of struggles.
This has been the worst season of Gibbs's racing career, but the man in charge of the organization believes there are better days ahead.
"We're going to fight. Ty's dad Coy, his statement was always anytime we got in a tough spot about his kids, he goes, 'I raised my kids tough,'" Joe Gibbs said after Sunday's Cup Series race.
"That's what he said. Hopefully, we're going to fight our way out of this."
Gibbs showed an ability to contend for top-10s early in his career. He scored his first in his third career start in 2022 while filling in for Kurt Busch. He then piled up 10 more in 2023 en route to winning Rookie of the Year.
Last season, Gibbs made the playoffs for the first time. He set career-best marks with two pole wins, eight top-five finishes, and 12 top-10s. He posted an average finish of 17.4.
The situation has changed this season for the driver of the No. 54 Toyota Camry. Gibbs finished 16th in the Daytona 500 and then began a stretch of struggles that has lasted several races.
He crashed at Atlanta Motor Speedway and finished 32nd. He finished 34th at Circuit of the Americas the following week and then crashed and finished 25th at Phoenix Raceway. Gibbs finished 25th and 22nd at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway, respectively.
"There's no secret here. We've gone through a tough time to start the year," Coach Gibbs said. "Everything that's happened to us, not much (has) gone our way."
Sunday's race at Martinsville Speedway was Gibbs's best performance of the season. He scored his first stage points of the season and raced inside of the top 10.
However, contact from Toyota teammate Tyler Reddick led to Gibbs spinning near the exit of pit road on Lap 298. Zane Smith, who had nowhere to maneuver, then collided with the driver's side of the No. 54.
Gibbs was able to continue in the race after the incident. He crossed the line 13th, which was his best finish of the season, and then had a conversation with Reddick lasting roughly one minute.
After seven races, Gibbs is nowhere near the playoff cutline. He is 31st in points, just ahead of Noah Gragson, Riley Herbst, Shane van Gisbergen, and Cole Custer. He is 51 points behind Kyle Busch, the final driver above the cutline.
The good news for the driver of the No. 54 is that he has time to snap this streak of struggles. Nineteen races remain in the regular season. This gives him time to accumulate points or get the all-important win that can automatically put him in the playoffs.
Coach Gibbs believes that his grandson will continue to fight and ultimately break out of the slump, especially as he continues to gel with the revamped No. 54 team.
"I know what I'm studying through all of that," Gibbs said. "That is who surrounds us, who is there with us, who is working their rear-end off at the race shop to try and get us back.
"Those are the people that I just really, really appreciate. Anytime you go through a tough time, for me, that is something I really want to look at. Who are the guys there? We got some of those guys that are leading us out of this."