Ty Gibbs missed the 2025 NASCAR postseason altogether, yet he’s looking like one of the sport’s most formidable championship challengers this season. 

The 23-year-old picked up his second career Cup Series win Sunday at Iowa, which vaulted him to second in the standings with three races left in the regular season. 

2026 has been a career year in every category for Gibbs, who already has more top fives and top 10s than he had in 2025 and has a career-best average finish of 11.6. 

“Last year was a bit of a struggle, but it was character-building,” said Tyler Allen, Gibbs’ crew chief. “And I think both Ty and the team have come such a long way, and we’re finally starting to see the results and consistency across all types of race tracks. It’s been really fun. These wins are so incredible. Sometimes they’re few and far between and you really have to appreciate them.”

Allen made the winning pit call on Sunday to take two tires on the final pit stop of the day, which got Gibbs out in front of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Christopher Bell. Bell couldn’t find a way by Gibbs in the final laps. 

The name of the call Allen made? None other than the aptly-titled “Commanders”, an ode to the NFL team Joe Gibbs won three Super Bowls with. 

“That was a two-tire call, and it worked,” Ty Gibbs said. “The difference between two tires and four tires that you’re asking, just a little bit more overall grip, a little tighter of a balance.”

Ty Gibbs is on a roll and his grandfather is there to watch

For Joe Gibbs, 85, few joys compare to winning NASCAR races, and fewer still than watching his grandson win them while driving his cars. 

“I think everybody here kind of followed the 54 and what all happened over our three years previous to this,” Joe Gibbs said. “It really shows you how hard our sport is. Man, I was thinking today, just to win one of these races, just so much goes into it. I think there was a lot that tested almost everybody with the 54. There really was. I think the guys just kept working and coming through it, and I just really appreciate our people there.

“I have real confidence now. Our dream was to have four cars, that when we get to the racetrack, that are capable of winning. That’s a dream. That doesn’t happen very often. I think right now, I think we’re in that spot, and so we want to make the most of it.”

JGR has won seven races this season and has all four of its cars inside the top six in the standings. Ty Gibbs now trails Denny Hamlin by 103 points for the lead. 

That’s an almost unfathomable reality given the struggles of Gibbs and the No. 54 team over his first three years in the Cup Series. But the reality is that Gibbs, in just his fourth season, is a bona fide title contender and well on his way to carving out a successful career that just took a little longer to launch than anticipated.