TY GIBBS SCORES SECOND CAREER NASCAR CUP SERIES WIN AT IOWA SPEEDWAY
Joe Gibbs Racing delivers four of the top-six finishers in Toyota’s first Iowa victory
NEWTON, Iowa (August 9, 2026) – After a slow pit stop early in the race, Ty Gibbs was not going to be stopped at Iowa Speedway. He drove through the field, and after crew chief Tyler Allen called a two-tire stop on the final pit cycle, Gibbs came out with the lead and held off his Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) teammate Christopher Bell to score his second career victory. Bell finished second, for the seventh time this season, while JGR has added a fifth (Denny Hamlin) and sixth place finish (Chase Briscoe).
This is Toyota’s first Cup Series victory at Iowa, and Toyota now is the only OEM with victories on every current track on the Cup Series schedule.
Team Toyota now holds five of the top-six positions in the point standings with Hamlin leading Gibbs by 103 points. Tyler Reddick sits fourth, while Chase Briscoe moved inside the top-five in points for the first time this season. Christopher Bell continues his strong performance in sixth overall.
TOYOTA RACING Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Iowa Speedway
Race 23 of 36 – 306.25 miles, 350 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, TY GIBBS
2nd, CHRISTOPHER BELL
3rd, Ryan Blaney*
4th, Josh Berry*
5th, DENNY HAMLIN
6th, CHASE BRISCOE
12th, BUBBA WALLACE
19th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
21st, RILEY HERBST
35th, ERIK JONES
36th, TYLER REDDICK
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
TY GIBBS, No. 54 SiriusXM Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 1st
How did you keep your composure with Christopher Bell gaining on you every lap it seemed like?
“Yeah, I just had to keep my head down, gel up and stay with it. I appreciate my team, (spotter) Tony Hirschman, all glory to Jesus Christ.”
I want to ask you about (crew chief) Tyler Allen’s two-tire call, and you and I have had so many conversations this year about how this team has gelled. What’s really spurred that on in 2026?
“Just people that want to support each other. We made a big step from last year, obviously, and I really appreciate it. But I really appreciate all my teammates too. I wouldn’t be here without all my teammates as well, week in and week out, just help keep developing the program. And obviously we’re all up front for a reason. I really appreciate Denny (Hamlin) and Chase (Briscoe) and Christopher (Bell) for all their help, obviously.”
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 DEWALT Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
You settle for second, your seventh runner-up finish of the season. How does this one sit with you?
“This is what you call a bad second-place finish for sure. I don’t know what else to say. Ty did a really good job. He did a great job managing the race. I could tell that he was slipping and sliding around. Similar to last week or two weeks ago with Corey Heim, he just didn’t make a mistake. So P2.”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Progressive Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 5th
How did you finish fifth?
“Just had to white-knuckle every lap. Obviously not knowing where my car was going to land when I got into the corner, obviously you want to have brakes, and that was a crazy race to have to do it the whole time without it, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. The team did an amazing job. I would take that day 100 out of 100 times.”
How much harder was it to drive the race car that way?
“Yeah, I’d retire at the end of the year if I had to do that every week, that’s for sure. Lesson learned from our part, that obviously we got in a box that we weren’t allowed to get out of and we just had to grind away the best we could. I’m really proud of the team for the effort they put in today.”
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 6th
Brakes caused a little trouble but overall, not a big deal. Any surprises for you during this race?
“The brakes were still a little odd. That whole first stage I had no issues and I thought we were going to be really good, and then the second stage started rising. I thought we definitely could have been better if it wasn’t for that. I thought our Bass Pro Shops Toyota was really good. We struggled a little bit on the short run, but our long run speed was phenomenal. Overall great day obviously for JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing), great points day for us. To be 37th in points now to be fifth with a couple to go here before the end of the regular season is a big thing for us. Got to just try to keep it going.”
Does today’s performance give you a little bit of optimism over the next two weeks?
“I hope so. Truthfully the next two weeks are probably my two worst racetracks, or my least favorite, at least. So just got to try to go there and maximize our day. Our car should be really, really fast. Yeah, just have to execute, and we’ve been doing a really good job of that over the course of the last seven or eight weeks. Looking forward to the next couple and seeing if we can keep it rolling.”
ERIK JONES, No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB
Finishing Position: 35th
What did you see out there and how does this affect your Chase outlook?
“Yeah, we needed a few perfect week, and it needed to start here today for our Dollar Tree Toyota team, and obviously that didn’t happen. Just unfortunate with how early it is – lap three – I’m just trying to settle in and get going. You don’t expect it either in the top-10, top-five, you don’t think you are going to get caught up in something crazy like that. It’s a bummer. It’s a huge mountain now for here on out to get to the Chase, so we will see.”
TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 SupplyHouse Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 36th
Can you tell us what happened?
“Yeah, there wasn’t much. It was quick or I probably could have saved it. Just got out of shape in an area – corner entry – where I thought we were pretty secure all weekend. I feel awful for our SupplyHouse Toyota team. For us to take ourselves out is one thing, but to take out a fellow Toyota teammate when they are racing for the Chase – pretty much ended their day as well. It is the type of stuff you don’t do to yourself, and you don’t do to a teammate.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of over 50 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.
For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
