Ty Gibbs, grandson of Joe Gibbs, wins at Daytona in first ever NASCAR Xfinity start

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DAYTONA BEACH — Who needs practice?

Ty Gibbs, the grandson of NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs, won a double-overtime thriller in his first Xfinity start Saturday, taking the lead from fourth on the restart and outlasting Austin Cindric to win in his national series debut.

“This is a dream come true,” said Gibbs, who is just the sixth driver to win in his Xfinity debut. “I can’t thank everybody right now. This is awesome. I didn’t think I had it but we fought back and won.”

Here are five takeaways from Gibbs’ Xfinity Series victory in the Super Start Batteries 188 on Saturday on the Daytona International Speedway road course.

1. Off-road racing

Gibbs ran up front all night, but restarted fourth in the second overtime. He was, however, the first car with fresh tires, and it showed.

The 18-year-old made a daring four-wide pass going into Turn 1, briefly getting into the dirt as he made the hard left-turn. Gibbs somehow kept the car straight, and slid under leader Jeb Burton to take the lead with two laps to go.

Gibbs would then hold off Cindric, who won the Daytona road course last August, to become the first racer since Kurt Busch in 2006 to win in his Xfinity debut.

“When it’s your grandson, it’s different,” said Joe Gibbs, the famous Cup Series owner and Super Bowl champion who coached the Washington Football Team from 1981-92, and then again from 2004 to 2007. “It’s a dream come true for our whole family.”

2. From ARCA to Xfinity 

Gibbs finished second at the Daytona road course in last summer’s ARCA race, and he finished fourth in the ARCA race on the Daytona tri-oval last week. 

Gibbs has eight wins in 28 career ARCA starts. 

“My family is everything to me,” he said. “They do so much for me and I can’t thank them enough. This is amazing.” 

Ty Gibbs celebrates his victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Super Start Batteries 188 on Saturday.

 (Photo: Nadia Zomorodian/News-Journal) 3. Cindric, Allmendinger wreck to end Stage 1

Cindric finished second in a beat-up race car that lost the right-front fender during a Stage 1 wreck with AJ Allmendinger. 

Allmendinger, in the No. 16 Chevy for Kaulig Racing, was leading coming to the checkers, but Cindric got a run on him. He went low to make the pass, but Allmendinger threw a block. Cindric didn’t let up, and sent Allmendinger spinning into the infield grass. 

Cindric would go on to win the stage. Allmendinger’s car took the brunt of the damage, and limped home with a 35th-place finish. 

Allmendinger was quick to take responsibility during the stage-break. 

“I don’t know why he drove me down to the grass like that,” Cindric said of the ill-timed block. “I don’t like that … I don’t want to do that.”

4. Vargas, Kamara finish 37th

The No. 6 Chevy, driven by Ryan Vargas and sponsored by New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara, finished 37th after going to the garage with a mechanical issue midway through Stage 1. 

The Big Squeezy — Kamara’s chain of juice bars in Louisiana — was the primary sponsor for Vargas’ car after Vargas announced earlier in the week that he had no sponsorship for the race. 

The two connected Monday via Twitter, and, by Wednesday, Kamara’s juice bar chain was on the hood. Kamara also attended Saturday’s race. 

5. Natalie Decker wrecks in Xfinity debut

Natalie Decker, running in her first Xfinity race in the No. 23 Chevy, spun late in Stage 1. She would eventually go to the garage and finish 40th. 

Decker, 23, made 13 starts in the Truck Series last season, finishing fifth in the season-opener at Daytona. She made 30 career starts in the ARCA Menards Series from 2017-2020, recording 12 top-10s.

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