Xfinity champion Ty Gibbs to miss NASCAR Cup finale due to family emergency

Ty Gibbs won’t race in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series finale at Phoenix due to a family emergency.

Gibbs, 20, won the second-tier Xfinity Series title on Saturday while driving for his grandfather’s Joe Gibbs Racing team. He’s been driving in the Cup Series as a substitute for Kurt Busch at 23XI Racing as Busch has missed the second half of the season because of a concussion he suffered at Pocono this summer.

Former Joe Gibbs Racing Xfinity Series driver Daniel Hemric could replace Gibbs in the No. 23 car on Sunday.

Gibbs won the Xfinity title on Saturday night after beating three drivers from JR Motorsports in the winner-take-all championship race. Gibbs’ title came a week after he crashed teammate Brandon Jones for the win at Martinsville.

Gibbs was showered with boos after he dumped his teammate at Martinsville. Had Jones won the race, JGR would have had two of the four drivers racing for the championship on Saturday. Instead, Gibbs was the team’s only title contender and he spent the week apologizing for his actions after initially appearing unapologetic in the moments after he bumped Jones.

Gibbs is widely expected to take over the No. 18 car at JGR in place of Kyle Busch in 2023. Gibbs has 11 wins in 51 Xfinity Series starts and has 33 top-10 finishes.