Following the untimely passing of his brother J.D. in 2019, it was expected that Coy would inherit the company from their father Joe, but tragically, fate had other plans.
Coy’s son Ty had just won the NASCAR Xfinity Series title. Coy was there at the track celebrating with his 20-year-old son, and passed away just hours later in his sleep.
He is survived by his wife Heather and four kids.
The tributes immediately poured in from across the NASCAR world as the news became public knowledge. Below are just some of the comments made in reaction to Coy’s passing.
Newly crowned NASCAR Cup champion Joey Logano, who started his career at JGR
“I found out before the race, and I still honestly don’t know the details of anything. It’s such an interesting spot as you sit there preparing to run a championship race and then you hear somebody that has been in your life, known for a while — and I still don’t know the details, but it’s just sad. I don’t have words to explain how that is.
“I feel for Ty more than anything. When you take all the championship racing stuff out, it doesn’t matter at the end of the day. It’s great that we’re up here and we won a championship, but something happens to your family, it doesn’t matter. Like that’s the difference.
“For the whole sport, it’s a sad day. For me, it’s a bittersweet type of thing because here we are winning a championship, and here we are one of the people that’s a leader in our sport and someone I’ve known for a while is gone, and I don’t really know how to explain that and how hard that is.
“Obviously our prayers and thoughts go to the Gibbs family and everyone over at JGR. When you think they’ve had a rough run at it, I couldn’t imagine how Joe feels right now.
“Yeah, I don’t really know what else to say. It’s hard. I couldn’t imagine. I don’t know what it’s like. But for Ty to lose his dad, that’s just hard.”
Toyota Racing Development USA President David Wilson
Racing is a family and the relationships within the entire garage go so much deeper than on-track competition. Today, we lost a dear part of our family. The loss of Coy Gibbs is devastating to everyone at Toyota and TRD. Our deepest condolences and prayers are with Joe, Pat, Heather, Ty, Case, Jett and Elle and the entire Gibbs family and Joe Gibbs Racing family.”
NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France
“We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Coy Gibbs. On behalf of the France Family and all of NASCAR, I extend my…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Motorsport.com – NASCAR – Stories…