Three days after experiencing his first start in NASCAR’s premier series in a substitute role for a former Cup Series champion, Ty Gibbs will retain his role for a second consecutive week after it was announced that he will be filling in for Kurt Busch and the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota TRD Camry for this weekend’s event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.
The announcement comes as Busch has not received medical clearance to return to racing. He continues to recover from concussion-like symptoms stemming from a hard wreck during last weekend’s qualifying session at Pocono Raceway that prevented him from competing in the main event at the Tricky Triangle. Though he is set to be absent for a second consecutive week, Busch, who won at Kansas Speedway in May and is in contention to qualify for the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs, has received a medical waiver from NASCAR to remain eligible for the Playoffs that is set to commence in September.
Both Busch and 23XI Racing took to social media to unveil the news regarding Busch’s health status and plans for Indianapolis.
Gibbs also took to social media to address the news for this weekend at Indianapolis.
Gibbs, the reigning ARCA Menards Series champion and the grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs from Charlotte, North Carolina, currently competes as a full-time Xfinity Series competitor in the No. 54 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing. Through the first 19-scheduled events, he has achieved four victories and 11 top-10 results, including a runner-up result from last weekend’s Xfinity event at Pocono. He currently sits in third place in the Xfinity regular-season standings and trails the points lead by 22 points.
Gibbs will also be making his second and third career starts at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for his Xfinity-Cup double-duty role this weekend. He made his first start at Indy a year ago in the Xfinity circuit, where he earned stage points during both stage segments before setting in 19th place of the 36-car field.
Gibbs’ second career start in the NASCAR Cup Series is set to occur at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on Sunday, July 31, with the event’s coverage to occur at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
