Where Will Ty Gibbs Win His First Cup Race?

Where will Ty Gibbs win his first NASCAR Cup Series race?

James Krause: On a road course. As a rookie last year, Ty Gibbs secured the third-best average finish of drivers who ran all six road course races. Gibbs averaged a finishing position of 9.5, grabbing two of his four top-five finishes at Watkins Glen International and the Charlotte ROVAL. Gibbs’ fourth-place run at the ROVAL was his best career finish prior to taking third on Sunday. During his brief but dominant run in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, five of his 12 victories came on road courses. Gibbs has had strong showings on the short tracks, but not to the level of his teammates. All five other Toyota drivers last season finished in the top nine in average finishes on short tracks while Gibbs was 17th. While his performance — and that of Toyota as a manufacturer — at Phoenix Raceway with the brand new short track package was promising, the five road courses this season feel like the most likely spot for Gibbs to pick up his first win.

Wyatt Watson: It could honestly be as early as this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. Gibbs has only gotten better and better over time, and after having a solid run last year on the high banks and with how fast Toyota looked at Phoenix, it seems like it’s Gibbs versus the rest of his Toyota colleagues. However, if Gibbs doesn’t win this week, I could certainly see him win at least before the playoffs start. He has skill on road courses and has only gotten faster on intermediate tracks. Additionally, you can’t count him out on winning a superspeedway race at Daytona International Speedway before the playoffs begin. I expect the 21-year-old to get that first win sooner rather than later.

Austin Bass: Gibbs will win his first Cup race this weekend at Bristol. The super sophomore led 105 laps there last fall, the most he has led in a Cup Series event so far, and finished fifth, his career-best result on an oval until last week’s third-place effort. The Toyotas were exceptionally strong last week and Joe Gibbs Racing historically runs up front at Bristol. Expect Gibbs to have a monster day.

Josh Calloni: Bristol, this weekend. Gibbs has momentum on his side, entering the season with the highest average finish through the first four races in Cup, and a third-place finish at Phoenix, leading 57 laps. In addition to that, Gibbs is returning to a track in Bristol in which he led 102 laps in the fall, only his second time there in a Cup…