Gibbs manages final stage of New Holland 250 for fifth Xfinity Series win

CAMBRIDGE TWP. – Nobody would’ve batted an eye if Ty Gibbs admitted he had some other things on his mind heading into the New Holland 250.

After all, Gibbs was set to fill in for Kurt Busch in Sunday’s Firekeepers Casino 400 in addition to his scheduled run in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race. Running double duty would have a toll on anybody, much less a 19-year-old filling in for one of the most visible racers in the sport’s history.

It’s been a special rise – one Gibbs said he doesn’t have an easy time dwelling on when there’s more work to be done.

“You can’t stop when the job’s not finished,” he said. “You just gotta keep going and going and going.”

That workmanlike approach not only elevated Gibbs into becoming an apt replacement for a legend but also eased him into the lead during the final stage of the New Holland 250, one he held onto for his fifth Xfinity Series win of the season.

Leading for a race-high 54 laps, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver picked up his second victory at Michigan International Speedway in as many years after winning the 2021 ARCA Menards se Henry Ford Health 200.

Justin Allgaier finished 1.161 seconds behind Gibbs for runner-up honors and his tenth top-five finish of the season. While he made a strong push to cut the gap in the final 10 laps, Allgaier said he was already resigned to his finish on a track where positioning is paramount to final results.

“At that point, it’s too late,” he said. “If you’re not bumper-to-bumper with somebody with 10 or 15 (laps) to go, it’s gonna be really hard to mount that charge.”

Besides Gibbs, pole winner Noah Gragson was the only driver with 40 or more led laps on his way to a third-place finish. The JR Motorsports driver dominated Stage 1 and snuck out a last-second win in Stage 2 as the fastest car of the day but couldn’t overcome lane traffic and Gibbs’ stranglehold on the lead in the final 25 laps.

Gibbs and fourth-place finisher Brandon Jones were the only Toyota drivers to finish in the top ten. Chevrolet drivers Austin Hill, Josh Berry, A.J. Allmendinger and Daniel Hemric placed fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively.

Riley Herbst (Ford) and Landon Cassill (Chevrolet) rounded out the top ten with ninth and tenth place finishes.

The first 30 laps held few surprises as Gragson jumped out to an early lead off the pole and generally held the lead with Allgaier and Allmendinger jockeying for position behind him. Originally starting in the fifth row, Gibbs worked his way up to sixth place by the end of Stage 1.

Allgaier shoved out of the restart to lead all racers while Gragson fell back to fifth and Sammy Smith shot up to second with Gibbs right behind him at third. Allmendinger bided his time behind them before maximizing open lanes to take the lead with Stage 2 winding to a close.

Then, Gragson showed off the breakneck speed that’s defined the long-standing reputation surrounding MIS, sweeping inside from Turn 4 for a drag race to beat out Allmendinger in the final lap of the race’s first half.

“I didn’t wanna time it too early so I kinda backed off the gas (and) exited the corner just so I could sidedraft him a little further down the straightaway,” he said. “Then, (I) stalled him out.”

With a 65-lap final stage left, Gibbs took the lead for the first time and managed to grow it as Smith and Allegaier each waged runs at the top. Gibbs evened out at dith following a pitstop as Smith took over in front with Gragson riding hot on his heels.

It wouldn’t last long. Gibbs took back over with 15 laps to go and cruised as well as anybody past the checkered flag with a final time of 1:45:55.064 and another win to his name.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Gibbs manages final stage of New Holland 250 for fifth Xfinity Series win