A rising NASCAR star bumped his teammate out of the way for a win, sparking more debate over race etiquette
- Ty Gibbs won another NASCAR Xfinity race after shoving his teammate out of the way.
- The grandson of legendary NFL coach Joe Gibbs admitted payback is probably coming.
Rising NASCAR star Ty Gibbs picked up his third win in the last five races, shoving John Hunter Nemechek out of the way to cross the finish line first.
To make matters worse: Gibbs and Nemechek are teammates, which will make for some awkward and tense meetings this week.
The move came on the final lap of the Xfinity race — NASCAR's second-tier — with Gibbs trailing Nemechek. The 19-year-old grandson of legendary NFL coach and NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs, first bumped Nemechek from behind, and then, as the 54-car moved alongside his teammate, he shoved the 18-car out of the way, and Gibbs grabbed the checkered flag.
After the race, Gibbs admitted the move was intentional and conceded that payback is probably coming at some point.
"I definitely deserve one back," Gibbs said. "We're racing for a win. They are hard to come by. So I had to take it ... John Hunter was a little faster. We had a great race. Good for Toyota to finish 1-2. Just got in there deep and had to bump him out of the way up the track."
Nemechek said he would settle it during their next team meeting.
"Him and I will settle it Monday," Nemechek said. "I don't want to say too much and get myself in trouble, but just got drove through. He didn't even try to make the corner there. Racers never forget."
This controversial ending came just one week after the final lap of the Cup series race in Austin looked more like bumper cars.
Rubbin' is racin', to a point
So how much contact is too much contact when fighting for a win?
There is no easy answer.
During the Austin race, former drivers Clint Bowyer and Tony Stewart said they were fine with Ross Chastain shoving Alex Bowman out of the way for the win, noting that Bowman had bumped Chastain out of the way first.
After Gibbs' controversial win, current NASCAR driver Daniel Suarez, serving as a Fox analyst, suggested that Nemechek was not aggressive enough while defending his position.
"You're racing for the win, and either you are going to do it to me, or I am going to do it to you," Suarez said during the broadcast. "At that point, it is who is going to do it first. I feel like John Hunter — he did a good job — but probably was a little too nice."
Before Sunday's Cup Series race in Richmond, Tyler Reddick was asked how he would handle the final lap if he were in second place battling for a win.
"It depends," Reddick said on Fox Sports 1. "Have I had the best car all day? Have I not been running that good all day and just somehow getting to the back bumper of the guy that's been dominating all day? All those things play into that. How have I been raced by the leader up to that point? Have I never been around him? Have we been racing hard? Has he been moving me? Have we been racing each other really clean? All these really play into that."
Reddick did admit there is another big factor to consider: He has never won a race in the Cup series.
"Certainly, I want to win my first race really bad, but all these things are going to play into what happens on that last lap," Reddick said. "If I'm at his back bumper, how aggressive do I get? How far am I willing to hurt somebody's feelings for that first win? All of that will be decided if I am in that position on the last lap."
Reddick might go a little further for that first win, but he also knows drivers never forget.