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Ty Gibbs has recorded three straight top-five finishes in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Don’t look now, but Ty Gibbs is on a hot streak in the NASCAR Cup Series. On the heels of a difficult 2025 season that saw him finish 19th in the points standings, the driver of the No. 54 has come out swinging in 2026.
In the last three races, Gibbs has posted three top-five finishes. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver placed fourth at Circuit of The Americas, fifth at Phoenix Raceway, and fifth this past Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The three straight top-five finishes have Gibbs on a hot streak as he sits 10th in the Cup Series points standings. On top of that, the 23-year-old reached a milestone in his recent string of strong performances.
Ty Gibbs became the fifth youngest driver to post three straight top fives
In a stat pulled by NASCAR Insights on X, Gibbs joins formidable company with three straight top-five finishes.
At 23 years, five months, and 11 days old, Gibbs became the fifth youngest driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to post three straight top-five finishes.
Joey Logano was the youngest driver to record three straight top fives at 20 years, five months, 21 days old in 2010. Following Logano is Kyle Busch at 21 years, two months, 14 days old in 2006.
Erik Jones is third youngest on the list at 21 years, three months, four days old in 2017. William Byron is fourth when he posted three straight top fives at 22 years, nine months, 11 days old in 2020.
Compared to the first five races of last year, 2026 has been a major step-up in performance for Gibbs. In 2025, the North Carolina native failed to finish higher than 16th in the first five races.
The early-season struggles mired him back to as low as 36th in the points standings. By the end of the season, Gibbs has only posted five top-five finishes and an average finish of 17.9.
There was a bright spot for Gibbs along the way as he won NASCAR’s inaugural In-Season Challenge. Yet, he failed to make the playoffs and finished the season 19th in the standings.
Ty Gibbs reflects on Las Vegas finish: ‘Unfortunately, I sped’
Gibbs’ fifth-place finish at Las Vegas didn’t come easy on Sunday at Las Vegas. After committing a speeding penalty on the round of pit stops following stage one, the driver of the No. 54 had to drive through the field.
Despite the penalty, the Monster Energy Toyota proved to have speed as Gibbs bounced back and brought it home fifth.
When talking to FOX Sports in his post-race interview, Gibbs was bummed that he “stubbed” himself with the penalty, but acknowledged that he and the No. 54 team battled back.
“I had a great time. Unfortunately, I sped and stubbed myself there and it was unfortunate, but we fought back. Pit stops were really great. Thank you to my whole crew and everybody there. Had such a fun time racing today. These races are so much fun. We’ll come back next week and hammer down,” Gibbs said.
Gibbs is still searching for his first career win in the NASCAR Cup Series. In 128 starts, Gibbs’ best finish is second twice, coming at Darlington in May 2024 and the Chicago Street Race in July 2025.
John Breeden John Breeden is a NASCAR contributor at Heavy Sports. He has five years of sports journalism experience. He graduated from James Madison University in May of 2022 with a degree in media arts and design. John is also a sports reporter for the Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Previously, John was a sports writer for JMU’s The Breeze and a NASCAR content writer for Sportskeeda. More about John Breeden
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