Ty Gibbs wins NASCAR Xfinity title in tense Phoenix finale

While he led the most laps, Gibbs had to fight through a wild three-wide battle with fellow championship contenders Noah Gragson and Justin Allgaier in the final 25 laps.

Gibbs finally cleared Allgaier for the lead for the final time with 20 of 200 laps remaining and held off Gragson by 0.397 seconds to earn the win and the series title.

Just a week ago, Gibbs received nearly universal condemnation for wrecking his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Brandon Jones on the final lap to win the race at Martinsville, Va. Gibbs was already qualified for the Championship4 at the time while Jones needed the win to advance.

While Gibbs celebrated with a wild burnout after the win, he was greeted with a cascade of boos from fans, much like he did in driver introductions.

The win was Gibbs’ seventh of the season and 11th of his career in just 51 starts.

“First off, I just want to say thank you to my team. Every one of these guys, my pit crew, they did an awesome job. They put us here. Great job to my team,” Gibbs said.

“You know, what I did last week was unacceptable, and I apologize once again, but it was unacceptable because we could have had two shots to win this deal, and it was stupid from an organization standpoint. All my fault.

“I can sit here and tell you I’m sorry as much as I can, but it’s not going to fix it. I’ve got to fix my actions. I felt like today I had a good race, felt like I made some good moves. Me and (Allgaier) were racing really hard. I felt like hopefully we put on a great show.”

Gibbs’ crew chief, Chris Gayle, credited his driver for being able to maintain his focus on what was on the line despite last weekend’s incident.

“Just think how tough you have to be, how resilient you have to be after going through that last week,” Gayle said. “The hardest thing for him was going to be all the stuff leading up to it, man.

“When you got between these two walls on this the race track, that’s where he shined today, man.”

Gragson had to battle back from a slow pit stop during the final stops on Lap 160 that left him eighth on the restart. He managed to get back to second and cut his deficit to Gibbs to under a half-second on a couple off occasions but never got close enough to a pass for the lead.

“Just didn’t have enough for them at the end but it wasn’t for a lack of trying,” Gragson said. “It sure does suck to lose to someone like that but it wasn't for a lack of effort.”

Allgaier ended up third, Landon Cassill was fourth and A.J. Allmendinger rounded out the top-five.

Completing the top-10 were Sheldon Creed, Riley Herbst, Daniel Hemric, Austin Hill and Sammy Smith.

Josh Berry, the final Championship 4 contender, ended up 13th after hitting the wall late in the race.

Stage 3

Following the break between Stages 2 and 3, the lead-lap cars all pit with Allgaier first off pit road.

On the restart on Lap 99, Allgaier was followed by Gibbs, Brandon Jones, Gragson and Smith.

Allgaier and Gibbs ran side-by-side for about a lap before Gibbs cleared for the lead on Lap 100.

On Lap 102, a multi-car wreck erupted near the start/finish line which started when Herbst, Smith and Sam Mayer made contact and collected several others.

A handful of drivers elected to pit but Gibbs remained on the track and in the lead when the race returned to green on Lap 109.

Kyle Weatherman got into Joey Gase on Lap 111 to trigger another wreck that also collected Smith and Mason Massey and brought out the sixth caution of the race.

A handful of cars elected to pit but Gibbs remained on the track and in the lead when the race resumed on Lap 117.

Gragson slipped by Gibbs on the restart to return to the lead.

On Lap 148, Gragson went up the track in Turns 3 and 4 and Allgaier got by him and reclaimed the lead. Gibbs got by Gragson and moved back into second.

Dillon Bassett blew and engine and came to a stop in Turn 3 on Lap 155 to bring out the seventh caution of the race.

All the lead-lap cars pit with Gibbs first off pit road with 13.7-second four-tire pit stop. The race resumed on Lap 165 with Gibbs out front followed by Allgaier, Berry, Creed and Allmendinger. Gragson lined up eighth after a slow stop.

Jones spun near the entry to pit road on Lap 166 after contact from Gragson to bring out a caution. The lead lap cars remained on the track.

Gibbs led the way on Lap 171 followed by Allgaier and Berry. Gragson lined up eighth.

After running side-by-side with Gibbs, Allgaier cleared for the lead on Lap 170.

Gibbs used a crossover move to finally get back by Allgaier for the lead on Lap 180.

Stage 2

Gibbs completed a sweep of the first two stage wins, holding off Allgaier by 1.4 seconds.

Gragson was third, Smith fourth and Cassill rounded out the top-five.

Following the break between Stages 1 and 2, most of the lead-lap cars pit with Gibbs first off pit road. Nick Sanchez was among those who stayed out and inherited the lead. Austin Hill was penalized for speeding on pit road and had to restart from the rear of the field.

On the restart on Lap 54, Sanchez was followed by Smith, Herbst, Kaz Grala and Gibbs.

Smith grabbed the lead on the restart only to see Gibbs power around him to reclaim the top spot on Lap 55.

J.J. Yeley spun around entering Turn 1 following contact with Kris Wright which forced NASCAR to display a caution on Lap 61.

The race returned to green on Lap 66 with Gibbs still the leader and followed by Smith, Jones and Cassill.

Smith got past Gibbs on the restart to grab the lead, only to see Gragson take the field three-wide to briefly move out front on the following lap. Smith almost immediately executed a crossover move to reclaim the lead.

Gragson finally got around Smith and cleared him for the lead on Lap 75.

Gibbs powered around Gragson on Lap 79 to move back out front as Allgaier moved to second.

With five laps remaining in the stage, Gibbs had moved out to a 1.5-second lead over Allgaier with Gragson in third.

Stage 1

Gibbs led every lap and easily held off Gragson to claim the Stage 1 win, his ninth of the 2022 season.

Allgaier was third, Berry fourth and Cassill rounded out the top-five.

Gibbs started on the pole and quickly cleared for the lead.

With 25 laps remaining in the stage, Gibbs had built a 3.3-second lead over Gragson as Smith.

Brandon Brown had a right-front tire go down and wrecked off Turn 2 on Lap 31 to bring out the first caution of the race.

A handful of cars pit but Gibbs remained on the track and in the lead. The race returned to green on Lap 38 with Gibbs followed by Gragson, Allgaier and Cassill.