Ty Gibbs wins Xfinity Series pole award at Watkins Glen International

Look out, Ty Gibbs might be on his way to another NASCAR Xfinity Series win. He’ll start on the pole later today at Watkins Glen. Gibbs took his No. 19 Toyota Supra around the track in what was almost a record-breaking lap in the final qualifying session.

Throughout practice, Justin Allgaier looked to be the strongest on the track. He was very good in his qualifying round. However, Gibbs just found that extra something to take down the JR Motorsports No. 7 Chevy.

With Alex Bowman and Kyle Busch also making starts in this Xfinity Series race, Gibbs’ pole award is even more impressive. He bested his Cup Series peers, reminding everyone he is the champion from just a year ago.

Ty Gibbs claims the NASCAR Xfinity Series POLE at Watkins Glen! pic.twitter.com/h5SQieXRuV

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) August 19, 2023

While Ty Gibbs captured the pole, it was a very impressive session for JR Motorsports. Allgier, Sam Mayer, and Josh Berry all made the final round. They qualified P3, P5, and P7, respectively.

Bowman was second-best in the qualifying round. Cole Custer was fourth, Daniel Hemric sixth, and Busch, Sammy Smith, and Riley Herbst rounded out the top-10.

The lap record almost went down. Ty Gibbs’ time of 1:10.549 was just a single one-thousandth of a second off the Xfinity Series track record. That record was set just a year ago by William Byron.

Ty Gibbs hoping to make the Cup Series playoffs

While it is nice to win races and ple awards in the Xfinity Series, Ty Gibbs has bigger fish to fry lately. The Cup Series rookie has had a pretty impressive season. He hasn’t had the greatest rookie year ever in NASCAR. However, you could argue that his lack of wins and top-5s have to do with the level of competition he faces.

Then again, Gibbs is just 20 years old. The expectations he faces in the 54 car on the Cup side of things are immense. Right now, he’s in 18th place and trying to steal a win in these last two weeks to put himself in the playoffs.

Ty Gibbs has proven at the Xfinity and Cup level that he is a very talented road course racer. Perhaps this pole award in the lower series will carry over later today in the Cup qualifying session.

Allgaier was really fast and really consistent in practice and qualifying. We might get a really good battle between the 19 and the 7 later this afternoon. Just remember to keep your eyes on Gibbs in the Cup sessions. If he has speed, he might be able to shake things up on Sunday.