Heading into Bristol, Kyle Larson was one of the most favorite drivers to win the race. After all, he had three wins to his name along with a strong run in Saturday’s O’Reilly race. But another driver who had a string of strong runs heading into Bristol was Ty Gibbs. And after not winning for 131 races before, he finally got the job done on Sunday. Despite this, he felt it didn’t change his world entirely.

Ty Gibbs focused on the big picture despite impressive Bristol win

Speaking on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio after securing his first Cup win, Ty Gibbs claimed that the win doesn’t change his life or his career.

“I don’t think one win is going to change my life or my career. I mean, if that win didn’t happen, I still knew I was capable of going running good this next weekend in Kansas. If one win was going to change my life, that’s not the right mindset to have in life. And I definitely don’t have that,” he described.

To Gibbs’ point, he was bound to have a good run at Bristol even if he hadn’t converted it into a win. And even if he hadn’t won on Sunday, he’s confident heading into Kansas, despite not having a very impressive record there. And the reason for that confidence is certainly his consistency and the level at which he is finishing race after race this season.

Following a disappointing start to the season with a 23rd at Daytona and a 37th at Atlanta, Ty Gibbs and the #54 team locked in and haven’t looked back since. In the next six races, he finished in 6th or above. This was also something Gibbs acknowledged as he said, “I knew, obviously we’ve been really strong this year and we’re capable of it. It was just a matter of time in the last couple of years.”

He added that the more important thing to him is the fact that he is consistently running well and has climbed up to 4th in points.

While Gibbs is focused on the big picture and has long-term goals for this season, the nature of his first win can’t be ignored. It was a major upset in the sense that Gibbs beat and held off two of the most skilled and experienced drivers in Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson, who are both Cup champions. In fact, both of those drivers led huge parts of the races. Larson led 284 laps and Blaney led 190.

Moreover, it was also the fact that Gibbs beat Blaney by a margin of 0.055 seconds, which was the closest margin of victory at Bristol since 1991.

Gibbs had a long wait and a difficult journey to his debut win

The fact that Gibbs had to wait for 131 races to get his first win is in itself a testament to how long the path was for him. But along with that, the path was one with a lot of difficulties and heartbreaks.

Hours after winning the Xfinity championship in 2022, he tragically lost his father, Coy. Following that, he was promoted to Cup at JGR in the #54 car, and went winless in his first, second, and third seasons.

This raised the pressure on not just the young driver but also his team owner and grandfather Joe Gibbs, who admitted that the #54 team was going through a difficult phase after Martinsville last season.

Then Chris Gabehart accused JGR of giving Ty Gibbs different treatment and that the young driver misses team meetings.

All of these incidents ensured that when the win came for the #54 driver at Bristol on Sunday, it was a sweet and emotional one. This was evident in the post-race celebrations involving his mother and Joe Gibbs.

However, despite the long wait and the difficult journey to the win, Ty Gibbs’ focus on the big picture also speaks volumes about his competitive side and his grit.