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NASCAR Community Wraps Its Arms Around Kevin Harvick’s Team Member Amid Tragedy, Days After Coy Gibbs’ Sudden Death

Published 11/11/2022, 2:44 AM EST

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Sunday night in Phoenix was meant to be a day of revelry and jubilation. A tinge of disappointment was expected from whichever driver and team would eventually miss out on winning the Championship. But the NASCAR world was dealt a cruel blow with the announcement of Coy Gibbs’ death from illness. 

Saturday was a day full of joy for the Gibbs family as Ty Gibbs was confirmed as the Champion in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. His finale in Phoenix was a show of the caliber of Ty as well as Joe Gibbs Racing as a team, which has for long nurtured and built champions.

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But in a rather tragic turn of events, it was announced that Coy Gibbs had died just hours after his son won the title. For obvious reasons, Sunday was a very emotional day for those in Phoenix. Kyle Busch for instance was seen crying on the pit road before the race.

But people battled on and in a marvelous victory, Joey Logano took the trophy home. It was well-documented how instrumental Kevin Harvick’s crew chief, Rodney Childers, was in the victory. Childers had provided advice to Logano’s crew chief, Paul Wolfe, during the race.

It turns out that the Stewart-Haas Racing crew member has himself been handed some bad news. In a tweet put out by Childers, he said “Got the call this afternoon that I’ve been dreading.. They’ve called in hospice for my grandmother. She’s the last one I’ve got.. It sucks.. Keep my mom and my family in your thoughts and prayers.. 😭🙏🏼”

The passing of Coy Gibbs was a rude shock to the NASCAR world, and it is unimaginable to begin to understand what the Gibbs family – or the Childers – are going through. They are in everyone’s thoughts.

NASCAR bears the brunt of another tragic news after Coy Gibbs

Coy Gibbs was an instrumental figure in NASCAR. While he had taken over the reins of JGR only in 2019 under difficult circumstances, he had been part of the sport for many years prior to that. 

His relations with Harvick weren’t amazing, with the incident from Martinsville in 2002 in the Truck Series coming to mind. But in this moment of difficulty for Childers, Gibbs’ family will know what it feels like. The NASCAR community posted messages of condolence for Rodney –

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It has been a tough week for NASCAR in general. Drivers from JGR will be particularly thankful for the off-season and will take the opportunity to put these very emotional days behind them over the off-season. 

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Written by:

Abhay Tyagi

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Abhay Tyagi is a Formula 1 Author at EssentiallySports. Although he has completed his undergrad in Law and Management, he has always been eager to venture into the exciting field of sports journalism. With a special affinity for Engineering and Speed, Abhay has always found the world of Formula 1 quite exhilarating.
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