Ty Gibbs questions Austin Dillon's newfound speed, considers making similar move to reach playoffs

This week a lot of drivers are chiming in on the Austin Dillon penalty and that includes Ty Gibbs who has made some mistakes in his past. It feels like NASCAR has turned a corner and most drivers are fine with it.

Ty Gibbs is not locked into the playoffs. In fact, he has seen his points cushion wither away as he has only managed one top-10 finish in the last nine races. At one point, it felt like Gibbs was working his way up to his first career win.

You could argue that Gibbs hasn’t had a stretch of races this rough in the Cup Series since he drove in relief of Kurt Busch in 2022. So, Austin Dillon having his playoff spot taken from him for his actions at Richmond benefits Gibbs now.

While talking to Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports, Gibbs was asked about the penalty.

“Definitely glad that they took that away but outside of that they’re making the calls,” Gibbs explained. “I just, we were just back there so I really wasn’t too much focused on what happened until later in the week, hearing the news, but yeah, definitely nice it frees up a spot.”

There was more about Dillon that Gibbs revealed. At a time when Joe Gibbs Racing is having engine issues and speed issues on track, RCR seems to be on the upswing. It’s enough to make you curious…

Ty Gibbs admits mistakes, questions Dillon’s speed

Gibbs noted his own mistakes. Let’s not forget him dumping Brandon Jones, his teammate, in the playoffs. Gibbs was already in the Championship 4 and cost his teammate a spot by wrecking him for the win.

It was interesting that Ty Gibbs also questioned Dillon’s newfound speed.

“Yeah, I mean I think I’ve learned from some of my mistakes in the past, so I would say no. But definitely question where they got all that speed from as well, right? They haven’t been running good at all, now all of a sudden they are super fast. So, definitely curious on that.”

Now, I don’t think Gibbs is accusing anyone of cheating. Not outright, anyway. I’ll admit, I was not confident Austin Dillon’s car would pass inspection after the race. He had a surprising amount of speed.

Kyle Busch noted that Dillon’s team moved their car in a much different direction from the general setup the No. 8 team used. Busch had a decent race, given his recent struggles. But Dillon was on another level, best car on the track arguably. Ty Gibbs is just questioning that, that’s all.