Bristol Motor Speedway (Bristol, Tenn.) — Ty Gibbs doesn’t just return to Bristol Motor Speedway with the memories of winning his first career Cup race back in April.
He arrives with a car carrying the memory of Kyle Busch, the two-time NASCAR Cup champion who died suddenly in May. A long-time driver for M&Ms at Joe Gibbs Racing, Ty Gibbs will carry an M&Ms tribute scheme to Busch for the race Saturday night.
“[The team] came to me wanting to run it and the family wanted to run it, too, and [M&Ms parent company] Mars did, too. There were a lot of people wanting to do it, and I was the one chosen to do it,” Gibbs told me a couple of weeks ago.
So no added pressure?
“No,” Gibbs told me, then paused, and said, “Maybe a little bit. … What is pressure? I never heard of it before.”
That sounded like something Busch might say.
Bristol was one of the places where Busch had some of his greatest accomplishments, including two triple-header weekend sweeps. Busch won nine Cup races at the track (including one of the dirt races), nine O’Reilly races (former Xfinity) and five truck races.
“Bristol was always such a special place for Kyle, and M&Ms was such a huge part of his life and career, so seeing everyone come together again to honor him means more to our family than I can put into words,” Busch’s widow, Samantha Busch, said in a news release.
“Kyle loved the energy of the fans at Bristol, especially under the lights.”
Ty Gibbs knows it will be a cool moment to carry the scheme.
Ty Gibbs (R) will honor the late Kyle Busch (L) this weekend at Bristol.
“Going back with the M&Ms tribute is really cool for Kyle Busch,” Gibbs told me. “Obviously, I think we’ll have a great shot to win it. … But also have a great shot to win the rest of them, too.”
Gibbs sits sixth in the standings, 51 points behind leader Denny Hamlin. He has won since that victory as he took the checkered flag at Iowa.
“One win doesn’t change me at all as a human or as a race car driver, either,” Gibbs said.
The 23-year-old Gibbs said he doesn’t watch highlights of that first win.
“I probably watched some things on that we looked at that the team thinks that I can do better,” Gibber said. “But not much. I don’t sit there and fantasize over myself winning.
“On to the next one. I want to win the next weekend.”
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