It took 131 races, but Ty Gibbs got the job done. The Joe Gibbs Racing youngster earned his first Cup win at Bristol on Sunday after being in NASCAR’s top level for four seasons. It was an emotional moment for Gibbs, considering all the hardships his family had gone through during that time. But he wasn’t the only one who was emotional.

Ty Gibbs’ post-race celebrations moved Kevin Harvick

Having seen Gibbs struggle for so long, the former NASCAR driver knew what the moment meant for the Gibbs family and spoke about Ty Gibbs’ win on the Speed podcast.

“Ty Gibbs winning, the Gibbs family, all the things that the #54 team has been through over the last year and a half, seeing the enthusiasm from Ty, his mom, his grandfather Joe Gibbs is pretty special,” Harvick said.

Harvick called the win ‘pretty special’ for a reason. Compared to other JGR stars, Ty had lost a lot more races before winning. Denny Hamlin got his first Cup win with JGR in his 21st start, Christopher Bell in his second, and Chase Briscoe in his 17th.

But then there’s also what happened off the field, which made Gibbs’ win more special.

Further, Ty Gibbs lost his father, Coy, the night he won the Xfinity championship in November 2022. He was instrumental in his son’s racing career.

In 2023, Gibbs joined JGR’s Cup program, which many looked at as his replacing Kyle Busch, who left for RCR. Coupled with the fact that his grandfather, Joe Gibbs, is the owner of the team, Ty Gibbs was off to a rookie season with a lot of expectations. His first season in the Cup saw him run in the top 5, but he didn’t win.

After the win eluded him for two more seasons, things got so tough for Ty Gibbs in 2025 that Joe Gibbs had to acknowledge the team’s struggles.

“There’s no secret here, we’ve gone through a tough time. You know to start the year and everything that’s happened to us. There’s not much gone our way,” Gibbs said.

Before Martinsville last season, Ty Gibbs had finished outside the top 20 for five races in a row. Even after getting his first top 10 and top 5 at Darlington and Bristol, Gibbs had another stretch of races where he finished outside the top 20.

Adding to that, Chris Gabehart sparked controversy by claiming that Joe Gibbs’ grandson received different treatment at JGR and skipped team meetings.

So, when Ty Gibbs won at Bristol and celebrated with his mother and grandfather, everyone’s hearts warmed, and they appreciated the special moment.

The Gibbs family missed one person at Bristol

The #54 driver missed his father and said, “I’d love for my father to have seen this. I knew he knew it was going to happen and expected it as well.”

Coy Gibbs’ widow and Ty Gibbs’ mother, Heather, also spoke about him. She said that her husband “would have been so happy” to see his son’s first win at Bristol.

Not having him there was ‘the hardest part’ for the Gibbs family, according to her. She wished Coy Gibbs could have been there, but also acknowledged that he had prepared his son for this.