Ty Gibbs impresses in NASCAR Cup debut

Ty Gibbs was thrown into the fire and came out shining.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series regular who has stirred up controversy on the way to repeated wins on that circuit was picked to replace Kurt Busch in Sunday’s Cup race at Pocono Raceway after Busch crashed hard in Saturday practice.

NASCAR medical protocol parked Busch for the day, and Gibbs, who is expected to be a full-time driver in Cup in the next season or two, was called on to drive for Busch with little notice.

Gibbs ran mid-pack much of the day, stayed out of trouble and came home 16th, a very representative finish in his first Cup race.

Afterward, Gibbs thanked God, 23XI Racing team owners Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan and “everybody at 23XI.”

“The most important thing right now is about Kurt’s health, and hopefully he can get back in this seat,” Gibbs said. “He drives way better than me, so he deserves this. He’s been awesome. He’s helped me out so much. I want to say thank you to him.

“We had a fast McDonald’s Camry TRD. I had a great time, so Michael, if you’re watching I want to say thank you. It’s a big pleasure to wear this (Jordan emblem) on my shoulder and on my shoes. I had a great time and I learned a lot, so it was awesome.”

Busch hopes to return to the No. 45 Toyota this week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A decision on his eligibility will be made this week.

Gibbs said the biggest change from Xfinity to Cup was “just the dirty air and how bad that affects you. Just being able to make sure I was getting out far enough. I was a little bit tight all day, so just trying to get front turn and trying to get more center turn which would help me. It was a learning day. I felt like I learned a lot.

“I’m very thankful. It was close to almost a top 15. It