Photo credit: Joe Gibbs Racing 

AVONDALE, Arizona – During the NASCAR season finale this weekend at Phoenix Raceway, some sad news also hit the NASCAR community. Just a day after his son Ty Gibbs dominated and won the 2022 Xfinity Series Championship race, Coy Gibbs passed away in his sleep, according to a release from Joe Gibbs Racing.

“It is with great sorrow that Joe Gibbs Racing confirms that Coy Gibbs (co-owner) went to be with the Lord in his sleep last night,” the team said in its statement. “The family appreciates all the thoughts and prayers and asks for privacy at this time.”

Coy was not a stranger to NASCAR or the Joe Gibbs Racing team. He played many sports and was known as the middle linebacker at Stanford University from 1991 - 1994. He was also a race car driver in the late 1990s driving late models. While he had 58 truck starts, he finished in six top 5 finishes. Coy Gibbs also started and ran Joe Gibbs Racing’s motocross team, which was a winner and championship contender in Supercross. He stepped into the executive role after his brother J.D. Gibbs passed away in January 2019 also at the age of 49. J.D. battled a degenerative neurological disease.  

This news also leaves the Joe Gibbs Racing family a bit numb. They all will still have to race and perform on Sunday for the Cup Series race that starts at 1:00 PM MST. Ty Gibbs was set to race the No. 23 car for the 23XI Racing team for Kurt Busch. About an hour before race time, it was announced that Ty will not race due to a family emergency and will be replaced by driver Daniel Hemric. The news was not immediately released of the details of the family emergency. 

A moment of silence was held in his honor before the Cup Series Race. Multiple drivers, including Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and race winner Joey Logano paid tribute to Gibbs before and after the race, with Logano dedicating his race victory and championship to him. During the post-race interview, Logano reflected on his relationship with Coy and spoke very highly of him. 

“We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Coy Gibbs,” NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France said. “On behalf of the France Family and all of NASCAR, I extend my deepest condolences to Joe, Pat, Heather, the Gibbs family, and everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing on the loss of Coy, a true friend and racer.

During the NBC prerace show, analyst Dale Jarrett, who won the 1993 Daytona 500 with Joe Gibbs Racing, said he was “stunned, devastated” by the news. “It’s family to me because of my association and the opportunities they gave me,” Jarrett said. “To get to know this family and to see Coy come from a college football career, try racing, do anything and everything to be a part of the family business there. And to bring Ty along and put him in a championship situation.

“If there’s any consolation in thinking about this, he was able to watch Ty win his championship yesterday. But my heart, my thoughts, and prayers to Joe, Pat, Ty, and everyone in the Gibbs family.”

NASCAR on NBC analyst Kyle Petty, who lost his son, Adam, in a 2000 crash, said he had many discussions with Joe Gibbs after the death of J.D. Gibbs.

“These are the days in this sport we are a family,” Petty said. “You hurt for this family. There are no words. This is his second son, and I was just crushed when I found out about it. It’s the worst thing a parent can go through to lose a child. But Coy was loved and we can look at so many positive things. That’s what we have to look at, anytime you have this situation, you have to look at the positive side.

“And Joe Gibbs and Pat are strong in their faith. That’s all you have is that faith you’re going to see them again. They’re in a better place. It breaks my heart. It truly, truly again brings you back to that moment in your life. And I know it takes him back and Pat back to that moment they lost J.D. It’s a sadness that will fall on this place as more and more people find out.”

Joe Gibbs started his NASCAR Cup Series team in 1993 after winning three Super Bowls as the coach of the Washington Redskins. After his fourth Cup Series championship, Joe Gibbs was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2020.

Coy Gibbs is survived by his wife, Heather, and four children (Ty, Case, and Jett, and daughter Elle.)

Photo Credit: Chris Graythen: Ty Gibbs (right) celebrates with his father, Coy Gibbs, and mother, Heather Gibbs, in victory lane after winning the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship.