For a third consecutive weekend, Ty Gibbs will be pulling double duty as he will be piloting the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota TRD Camry for the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series event at Michigan International Speedway while subbing for Kurt Busch.
The news comes as Busch released a statement through social media that he has not received medical clearance to return to on-track, with his last start occurring at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 17. The 2004 Cup Series champion continues to recover from concussion-like symptoms he sustained following a hard wreck during a qualifying session at Pocono Raceway on July 23, which sidelined him from the main event the following day at the Tricky Triangle and during last weekend’s event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.
In spite of his absence, Busch has been granted a medical waiver to be eligible for the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs, where he is currently guaranteed a postseason spot by virtue of winning at Kansas Speedway on May 15.
With Busch setting his focus on returning next weekend at Richmond Raceway, the 19-year-old Gibbs from Charlotte, North Carolina, will be making his third career start in NASCAR’s premier series at the Irish Hills. He made his Cup debut at Pocono while filling in for Busch, where he finished 16th after starting at the rear of the field. He is coming off a 17th-place run at Indy after starting 26th.
Gibbs also continues his pursuit for this first NASCAR national touring series championship as he is a full-time Xfinity Series competitor for Joe Gibbs Racing. Through the first 20-scheduled events, he has achieved four victories, three poles, eight top-five results, 12 top-10 results, 460 laps led and an average-finishing result of 10.1. He is currently ranked in third place in the regular-season standings and trails the points lead by 30 points with six regular-season events remaining.
This weekend will mark Gibbs’ second and third career NASCAR national touring series starts at Michigan between his Xfinity-Cup doubleheader duty. His first national touring series start at the Irish Hills was August 2021, where he led a single lap and ended up in 13th place following a late incident. Gibbs also made his lone ARCA Menards Series start at Michigan last August, where he won from pole position and after leading all but one of the 100-scheduled laps.
Gibbs’ third career start in the NASCAR Cup Series is set to occur at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, August 7. The event’s coverage is scheduled to occur at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.
