Phoenix – Coy Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing team executive and father of NASCAR driver Ty Gibbs, passed away suddenly Saturday night at the age of 49.
In a statement, Joe Gibbs Racing said: “Joe Gibbs Racing is very sorry to confirm that Coy Gibbs (co-owner) was with the Lord in his sleep last night. “The family appreciates all their thoughts and prayers and is requesting privacy at this time.”
Today we do things we don’t want to do. We band together as a family and compete for the name of our chest. @JoeGibbsRacing
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) November 6, 2022
Words cannot describe this day. Today is going to be tough enough already, but now it’s even more heartbreaking.
— Kyle Busch (@KyleBusch) November 6, 2022
“I am heartbroken at the tragic loss of Coy Gibbs,” NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France said in a statement. , and everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing, my deepest condolences for the loss of our true friend and racer, Coy.”
Coy, one of two children of Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs, was a former driver and assistant. NFL coach. Joe Gibbs’ other son, his JD, also died in 2019 at the age of 49 after a battle with a neurological illness.
Coy witnessed Ty, one of his four children, win the Xfinity title on Saturday night at Phoenix Raceway, followed by a controversial week on the racetrack. I talked about my new son.
“I will always have his back as his father,” Coy said. “…just watching it today and seeing his determination…it definitely made me proud.” It made my wife — we were both proud, just because he was thrashed and did his job.If he wants to do this for a living, he will learn how.”
Coy has a wife, Heather, sons, Ty, Case, Jet, and a daughter, Elle.
Ty Gibbs was scheduled to drive 23XI Racing’s No. 23 Toyota in the NASCAR Cup Series championship race on Sunday. But on Sunday morning, as rumors began to circulate in the NASCAR garage, the crew removed Gibbs’ seat and installed an insert for his Xfinity Series driver, Daniel Hemrick, who was still in the Phoenix area after Saturday’s race. I was.
23XI Racing later announced that Ty would not be racing on Sunday and that Hemrich would race in his place.
Coy was promoted to the COO role of JGR after his brother JD began to suffer from brain function problems in 2015. Previously, he spent years running the JGRMX motorcycle racing team. Prior to that, he was an offensive he quality he control he assistant at Washington He Commanders (2004-07) and a linebacker at Stanford University.
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— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) November 6, 2022
He also raced in the early 2000s, making 97 starts in NASCAR’s Xfinity and Truck Series. However, Coy struggled to produce results in his 2003 Xfinity season, and in 2004, when his father Joe, who had been absent for 11 years, returned to Washington as a coach, replaced him. led to his NFL.
Joe Gibbs, who turns 82 later this month, is also inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame for his role as team owner. On Sunday morning, when news of Coy’s death broke, Joe was getting ready to see driver Christopher his bell go to the team’s sixth Cup of his series his championship.
It’s already been a tumultuous year for JGR, with longtime sponsor M&M’s and driver Kyle Busch both leaving the team after Sunday’s race. Then Ty was the lightning rod last week at Martinsville Speedway when he was 20. Knockout teammate Brandon Jones to win the race.
Joe Gibbs will face the immeasurable loss of his younger son and the most logical member of the family to take over the reins of the team when he is ready to retire.
(Photo of Koy Gibbs, left: Meg Olyphant/Getty Images)
