Ty Gibbs reveals 'embarrassing' reason for Cole Custer pit road frustration, penalty at Chicago

A moment between Ty Gibbs and Cole Custer in the pit lane during Stage 2 of The Loop 110 Xfinity Series race in Chicago — which cost the latter a penalty and kicked off some mid-race rage — was partially the result of a goof by Gibbs, he admitted after the race.

Speaking on the NBC broadcast after Custer had passed him illegally in the pit lane, earning the penalty, Gibbs explained why he was going slow enough for Custer to pass him. The culprit? A user error that drivers of a manual car are all too familiar with.

“I just was taking a break out there, I was going slow,” Gibbs said, joking before sharing the real reason. “Nah, I was in first gear. I was in the wrong gear. So that’s not — that’s a little embarrassing. But we finally got back around them.”

It’s not illegal for drivers to pass in the pit lane in NASCAR, but it must be done on the left and once the car being passed has committed to its pit box. While Custer passed on the left, Gibbs wasn’t committed and thus the penalty was awarded.

Custer shared his ire over the radio upon getting sent to the back of the pack for his actions.

“Kiss my f***ing ass. That’s bulls**t!” Custer said, among other angered remarks.

Kyle Larson discussed Shane van Gisbergen’s win

The race had quite the backdrop with the iconic skyline in the background – with much better weather than last year, too. Kyle Larson looked like he had fun throughout The Loop 110 as he battled Shane van Gisbergen to the end.

Ultimately, Larson said van Gisbergen might’ve had even more fun. Their battles were entertaining as the race went along, and there was still plenty to take away from Saturday’s run.

“I was having a blast,” Larson said. “He was obviously way faster than me and I think he was having fun just playing with me. I wanted to use this race to learn and I wanted to take the first opportunity I got to battle him. We were going to give each other space because it was early on, but you just never know when the race plays out, if I’m gonna have a chance to battle him and learn racecraft stuff. So that was big on my agenda and I feel like I learned quite a bit, battling him and creating different angles and all that.

“I think today was a success. Obviously, we’d like to win, but our car just wasn’t quite as good as his. He could just exit Turn 5 just way smoother than me. I just was bouncing so aggressively. I couldn’t accelerate. Same through Turn 9. I just couldn’t carry the speed that he could. If I carried just a little bit too much, which was never even close to how much speed he was pulling through there, I would just sheer and get loose. And that carries all the way to 11. It was a fun, fun race, even through the restarts in the beginning of the third stage was cool.”

Saturday marked Larson’s second Xfinity Series run of the year, and it got him ready for Sunday’s main event. That’s when the Grant Park 165 gets underway to cap the Chicago Street Race weekend, and he said he’s feeling confident in what he can do after Sunday’s race.