Coy Gibbs, co-owner of NASCAR’s Joe Gibbs Racing, dies at 49
By Kevin Dotson, CNN
Coy Gibbs, co-owner of Joe Gibbs Racing, son of team patriarch Joe Gibbs and father of NASCAR driver Ty Gibbs, has died at the age of 49, the racing team announced.
“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 family appreciates all the thoughts and prayers and asks for privacy at this time,” the team said via Twitter Sunday afternoon.
Joe Gibbs lost his other son, J.D. Gibbs, in 2019. He died, also at the age of 49, after a long battle with a degenerative neurological disease, according to NASCAR.
The cause of Coy Gibb’s death has not been announced, but he died just hours after his 20-year-old son, Ty Gibbs, won the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship race.
Coy Gibbs spoke to the media about his son’s race Saturday, following a controversial week.
“Watching it today, yeah, just to see his determination,” NASCAR quoted him as saying.
“I think he’s got skills and he’s determined. It definitely made me proud. I think it made my wife — we were both proud, just because he just hammered down and did his job. If he wants to do this for a living, he’s going to learn how to do that,” he added.
Coy Gibbs joined his father’s team after finishing a college football career at Stanford University, according to NASCAR. Coy and J.D. Gibbs both worked in the front office of Joe Gibbs Racing, and Coy Gibbs also raced for the team, according to NASCAR.
The news of Coy Gibbs’ death left the NASCAR world stunned on the day of the final race of the season. A moment of silence was held his memory before the start of the race.
Ty Gibbs, who was slated to drive the No. 23 car in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, was replaced by driver Daniel Hemric just hours before the race, with his 23XI Racing team citing “a family emergency” as the cause.
Denny Hamlin, one of Joe Gibbs Racing’s most successful drivers tweeted, “Today we will do what we don’t want to do, but we we will unite as a family and race for the name on our chest.”
NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France said in a statement, “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Coy Gibbs. 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.”
This story is developing.
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CNN’s Kelly Murray also contributed to this story.
