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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Michelle R. Martinelli

NASCAR driver Ty Gibbs compared himself to Jesus after controversial Martinsville bump, fans absolutely roast him

Ty Gibbs Brandon Jones NASCAR Erik Jones Jesus Christ Martinsville Noah Gragson Clint Bowyer Joe Gibbs Racing JGR

Welcome to FTW’s NASCAR Feud of the Week, where we provide a detailed breakdown of the latest absurd, funny and sometimes legitimate controversies and issues within the racing world.

It’s Ty Gibbs versus everybody in this latest edition of Feud of the Week. And we actually mean everybody — his teammate, his competitors, the fans in the grandstands at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday night, as well as those on the internet. Everybody.

And he got roasted by pretty much everybody.

The 20-year-old Xfinity Series driver has quickly gained a reputation for being a super aggressive driver who has no problem knocking other cars out of his way. Gibbs — who drives the No. 54 Toyota for his grandfather’s team, Joe Gibbs Racing — also got into an actual fist fight with another driver earlier this season.

Here’s a breakdown of how Gibbs won at Martinsville, how he and others reacted to his controversial bump of his teammate and all the ways the NASCAR world roasted him for his behavior.

Ty Gibbs' controversial race-winning move Saturday at Martinsville almost certainly earned him an abundance of new enemies.

In the final race in the second-tier series before next weekend’s championship event, Gibbs was running second behind teammate Brandon Jones in the third overtime. But instead of racing for a clean finish, Gibbs opted to punt Jones out of his way.

The move sent Jones into the short track’s outside wall.

More via NASCAR.com:

“It was definitely not a clean move, for sure,” Gibbs said. “I definitely didn’t want to wreck him, but I definitely wanted to move him out of the groove so I could go win. I felt like we lost the spring race getting moved by him.

“He’s my teammate, but definitely want to get the win here. It’s important to get the win. And now we’re going to the championship. It’s cool. Hopefully, I don’t get hit by any cans or anything right here.”

Before the Martinsville race ended, Gibbs had already advanced to next Saturday’s championship race at Phoenix Raceway. So had he not bumped his teammate out of the way, Jones could have won and automatically transferred into the title race. Instead, Gibbs’ move ruined Jones’ race and kept him from competing for a championship.

Next season, Jones is switching teams and will join Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Xfinity team, JR Motorsports, and he seems pretty excited to have new teammates.

“I had the race won, I think,” Jones told NBC Sports after the race, adding: “I’m excited to make my move to JRM next year and be a part of that organization. A little bit more respect probably given next year.”

But Jones wasn't the only one to criticize Gibbs.

Noah Gragson — a JR Motorsports driver who will compete against Gibbs for the championship next weekend — was praising Jones after the race when he referred to the No. 19 Toyota driver’s organization as Ty Gibbs Racing instead of Joe Gibbs Racing before correcting himself.

Cup Series driver Erik Jones weighed in too, along with retired driver Clint Bowyer.

And the crowd at Martinsville Speedway piled on as well.

After Gibbs won the race, the Martinsville crowd erupted with boos as the No. 54 car driver climbed out. And he seemed to welcome them in a Kyle Busch-esque kind of way.

Fans who stuck around after the checkered flag also taunted Gibbs with “Thank you, Grandpa!” chants, according to The Athletic‘s Jordan Bianchi.

So if you’re keeping track, Gibbs was roasted by his soon-to-be former teammate, his championship competition and the fans in the grandstands.

Oh, but there's more.

Gibbs’ reaction and defense of his bump afterward didn’t help anything either. When he was later asked about the Martinsville crowd booing him, he compared himself with Jesus.

Gibbs told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio:

“I always go back to the same verse that Jesus was hated first and among all the people, so that’s a part of it, I feel like, just, you know, silencing out the crowd. I feel like that’s what you have to do as a professional athlete. I feel like some of the best people are going to get booed, and that’s part of life. You can’t let other people’s opinions and thoughts drive your actions and make you feel bad or anything. It’s part of life.”

And that didn’t sit well with a lot of fans.

So after a wild and controversial Martinsville race, Gibbs was roasted by NASCAR Twitter — for his move, his attitude and his Jesus comparison.

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