Ty Gibbs has been dealing with nepotism allegations since he arrived in the Cup Series in 2022. As Joe Gibbs’ grandson, driving at NASCAR’s highest level, his struggles made many question whether his family connections played a role in getting him the seat. But 2026 has changed the conversation. With two wins already this season and his stronger performances becoming harder to ignore, NASCAR veteran Ken Schrader believes the results are giving his critics the clearest answer.

“You know, two races for Ty this year. We talked about Ty and how much better he’s getting. He’s won two races already. He’s been right there; he’s doing a great job, and people can say whatever they want about the grandson,” Schrader said on the Herm & Schrader podcast.

“Whatever someone’s got to turn that wheel and work those pedals, and he’s the only one in that car, and he’s getting it done,” he added.

Gibbs’ results before 2026 only gave his critics more ammunition. He went winless in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025, with his only playoff appearance coming in 2024. Even then, his run ended in the opening round. That record made it easy for his detractors to question whether Gibbs was getting opportunities because of his surname rather than his performance.

But 2026 has offered a very different picture. Gibbs has won in Bristol and more recently, last week in Iowa. He has also collected 10 top-five finishes, while posting an average starting position of 9.0 and an average finish of 11.6.

Most importantly, he currently sits second in the Cup Series standings. Those numbers explain why Schrader is pushing back against the nepotism argument. A family connection can open a door. However, it cannot control what happens once the green flag drops. Gibbs still has to qualify the car, manage the tires, make the right moves in traffic, and execute when the opportunity arrives.

Iowa provided perhaps the clearest example. Gibbs took two tires during the final stop, while teammate Christopher Bell took four, giving Bell a theoretical advantage. Yet Bell couldn’t complete the pass despite closing in on his teammate and had to settle for his seventh second-place finish of 2026.

Whatever advantage Gibbs may have received earlier in his career, his 2026 results are increasingly becoming something he has to produce himself. He’s not been alone in his journey of improvement, though. There has been plenty of work behind the scenes to help him get to this point.

Kevin Harvick’s mentorship may be the missing piece for Gibbs

Former Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick’s company, KHI, represents Gibbs, and Harvick has also been working with him on the simulator and mental side of racing. That has given Gibbs someone with years of experience to turn to.

In the junior categories, he was sensational, showing that the raw speed was always there. He won the ARCA Menards Championship in 2021 with 10 wins, and the very next season, he won the O’Reilly Series. But once he reached the Cup Series, the challenge was finding more consistency, staying composed, and turning that speed into better results. Harvick has been helping him work through those areas.

The impact was already becoming visible before Gibbs scored his first win. Harvick noted in April that Gibbs had finished inside the top five in four of five races, and he believed a breakthrough victory was approaching.

“It started last year. I think now you’re starting to see some consistency in the team, no matter what type of racetrack that we go to, and they have the speed in the cars to go with it. …When you can get that top-five consistency, you’re going to win a race because you’re in the mix,” Harvick said back then.

Harvick’s simulator sessions give Gibbs a chance to work through different race situations without the pressure of an actual race weekend. And on the mental side, Harvick can help him deal with mistakes and make sure one bad result doesn’t turn into another.

Even Denny Hamlin recently praised Harvick for the improvement seen in Ty Gibbs.

“Ty has just went through a change that makes you think that this isn’t going away anytime soon. This is not a flash in the pan. I believe that he has found the answer to being successful week in and week out,” Hamlin said on the Actions Detrimental podcast.

Now, the conversation regarding Ty is different altogether. He is producing the kind of sustained results that make the nepotism argument increasingly difficult to defend. The speed was always there. The question was whether he could consistently convert it.

Harvick may be helping him bridge that gap. And with Gibbs sitting second in the standings, his 2026 campaign is becoming more than a breakout year. It is evidence that the young driver may finally be putting all the pieces together.