Ty Gibbs is steadily climbing the rungs of the NASCAR Cup Series. This year, he scored two poles, 12 top-10s, and eight top-fives, all career highs. He also cracked the playoffs for the very first time. Gibbs has shown exemplary growth from his ARCA Menards Series days when he gathered 6 wins in 2020 to the stellar Cup Series finish he posted this year. Behind this progress was a man who was an asset to the sport.

That man, Ty’s father Coy Gibbs, had passed away tragically in 2022, hours after Ty won the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship. And he was there for Ty till that last day. The Xfinity win was the culmination of a turbulent week for the 20-year-old driver. His bump of teammate Brandon Jones from a spot in the championship-eligible field last weekend had drawn a measure of scrutiny and criticism, which his father had tried to help him get past leading into the finale. In the postrace news conference of the Xfinity race, Coy Gibbs was seen publicly for the last time. And he did not step back from addressing the difficulty of the days leading up to his son’s championship clincher.

“It’s definitely been a tough week for sure. When you start this day, I’m kind of like, I just want to get this day over with. That was my mindset, because I want to move on and get past it. I’ve been through this before in multiple sports. Ty hasn’t. So it was more watching him and seeing how he’s going to react during the day. I think he’s just doubled down and did his job after making a huge mistake last week. It was fun to watch that,” Coy had said. Ty surely holds it close to his heart. So two years after Coy’s death he expressed that with a touching gesture.

Joe Gibbs’ grandson posted on Instagram, to commemorate the late Coy Gibbs’ birthday. Ty Gibbs posted a blurry video of him running up to his father after seemingly winning a race and giving him a tight hug. An adorable photo featuring Ty and his parents is also in the post. Ty penned a heartfelt message for this occasion: “Happy birthday pops. Love ya.” Coy had passed away in his sleep on November 6, 2022, with the Gibbs family disclosing little information about his untimely passing. He would have turned 52 this year.

Coy Gibbs had a brief racing career. He finished second in the Xfinity Series’ Rookie of the Year standings to David Stremme in 2003. Gibbs made 39 Xfinity starts and 58 Truck Series appearances from 2000-2003, netting a best finish of second place in a Truck event at Texas Motor Speedway in September 2002. But we know him for his ownership role at Joe Gibbs Racing and how he brought up his son, Ty Gibbs. And yet, racing knowledge was not the only thing that Coy had to pass on to his son.

Coy Gibbs was a standout linebacker for the Cardinal and Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh, and later served as an assistant coach with his father’s return to the football sidelines in Washington. Interestingly, Ty Gibbs was born three weeks after that runner-up result at Texas Motor Speedway. Coy Gibbs was asked two months earlier by the Portland (Maine) Press Herald if the son he was expecting with Heather, would follow the family’s influences and play football or race.

“I don’t know. Football is brutal. I played it and I saw what it did to my dad. You can’t talk to your family before the game, you can’t hold your kids. You’ve got to get ready to beat the crud out of another man. Here, family is all around,” Coy Gibbs said then at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. However, after Ty Gibbs showcased glimmers of interest in racing, Coy dedicated his efforts to his son. From handing him over to blue-collar racer Greg Marlow to learn late-model racing modestly to disciplining him for NASCAR, Coy Gibbs brought up Ty in the best possible way.

This year, Ty Gibbs posted five top 10-finishes in the first six races with 195 laps led in that span. His best performance came in the spring race of Bristol, where he led 137 laps. Coy Gibbs was instrumental in chartering this phenomenal growth, as he emphasized discipline. “I think if you want to compete in any sport, any athletics, you’ve got to be disciplined. I think instilling discipline a lot of times is hard for the kids…You have to get hardened. That’s what I wanted him to have. I wanted him to have his voice and understand that you don’t have to just listen to the crew chief or listen to someone about the car. If you don’t like it, you need to voice your opinion and change it.”

This amazing personality has remained evergreen in the NASCAR garage, as Gibbs’ compatriots rallied to wish him.

NASCAR community salutes bygone hero

Coy Gibbs‘ contributions to his father have been huge. He served as an offensive quality control assistant during Joe Gibbs’ second stint as the Washington NFL coach. Then he helped his father launch Joe Gibbs Racing Motocross in 2007. Not to mention Coy’s invaluable lessons taught to Ty Gibbs – in 2022, the youngster had developed a penchant for being aggressive, and his father spoke on his behalf. So, even after two years, the NASCAR community rallied to salute the deceased hero.

Stellar names like Riley Herbst, Rajah Caruth, and Marissa Deegan (Hailie Deegan’s mother) posted heart emojis in the comments. Taylor Gray, the No. 54 JGR driver in Xfinity, also remembered Ty’s dad. “CGs the man ❤️”

Even Noah Gragson jumped on this bandwagon. Gibbs held off Gragson for the 2022 championship and received scathing criticism from the latter. Gragson purposefully called the team “Ty Gibbs Racing.” Yet time heals everything, and Gibbs’ former rival posted his own heart emoji in the comments, saluting Coy Gibbs. Rico Abreu, the 2014 USAC National Midget Series champion, also poured his tribute in the comments. “thinking about y’all my friend. 🙏🏻” Brian Deegan, motocross riding champion and Hailie Deegan’s father, also posted his tribute: “❤️🙏”

Besides the glitterati, NASCAR fans tipped their hats to Ty Gibbs’ dad. Somebody took note of Ty’s significant growth over the past two years – he posted average finishes of 18.54 and 17.42 respectively in the Cup Series. “I can see that your dad definitely helped shape you into the man you are. I’m sure he’s looking down happily watching you race! Happy Birthday to Coy! 🥳🎉” One user also saluted the father-son duo which produced a winning formula in racing. “Happy birthday to ya pops, he raised a real one 💯”

Evidently, Coy Gibbs’ memory is fresh and alive in the NASCAR community. The veteran will live on in people’s hearts as his son charts his own journey.