It was the wreck heard ’round the NASCAR Xfinity Series garage.
Several drivers spoke out on Ty Gibbs dumping Brandon Jones on the final lap to win at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday night (Oct. 29), changing the complexion of the Championship 4.
In case you missed it, on the final restart of the Dead On Tools 250, the chance to battle for a title was on the line for Jones. The No. 19 Toyota driver entered the race 38 points below the playoff cut line and essentially needed to win the race to advance.
Jones’ Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Gibbs entered the event with a 30-point advantage over the cut line and only needed a decent finish to make the Championship 4. The duo dominated the night, combining to lead 200 of the race’s 269 laps.
Naturally, the race win came down to those two teammates. Gibbs led the field to green in overtime after the duo had bumped and rubbed each other quite a bit on previous restarts. Jones restarted in third, behind Gibbs, and used the bumper to nudge the No. 54 up the track.
“We were kind of being aggressive with each other all day during those restarts,” Jones said. “I’d get behind him, and not wreck him, but get into him and get him up out of the way, and I think that’s what you have to do here to go win the race.”
The Martinsville-style contact happened once again on the final restart. Jones went under Gibbs in turn 1 to make it three-wide with Noah Gragson up high, and the Georgia native completed the pass coming to the white flag.
Then, entering turn 1 of the last lap, Gibbs simply got into the back of the No. 19 and sent Jones spinning into the outside wall. The grandson of NASCAR Hall of Fame car owner Joe Gibbs cruised to the win, leading to loud boos and a “Thank you, grandpa” chant in the crowd.
Fans were heard chanting “Thank you Grandpa” after Ty Gibbs’ move to win.
🎥 : @Jordan_Bianchi pic.twitter.com/WJsMxX8QJt
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 29, 2022
“Go beat his ass, bro,” Gragson said as he walked by during Jones’ media availability.
“Brandon and I are friends, and I know what it’d be like if I was in his shoes, and I wouldn’t be too happy,” Gragson told Frontstretch. “Like he’s showing a lot more composure than I would be right now.
“But I guess you kind of have to deal with that when you’re driving that Ty Gibbs Racing, I mean Joe Gibbs Racing car.”
Gragson iterated that he expected a bump but, “He [Gibbs] destroyed him [Jones] getting into the corner.”
Great job tonight by @BrandonJonesRac! I know EVERYONE is really excited to have him over at @JRMotorsports next year, including the DRIVERS and to have him apart of the jrm FAMILY. https://t.co/MOWu3bJxIE
— Noah Gragson (@NoahGragson) October 29, 2022
Ironically, Jones will be leaving JGR and replacing Gragson next year in the JR Motorsports No. 9, as Gragson is moving on up to the NASCAR Cup Series. Back in September, Jones was trailing Gragson in the closing laps at Bristol Motor Speedway and elected not to wreck him for the win, settling for second.
“Everyone was mad at me for not wrecking Noah there, but it was more of a respect thing,” Jones said. “I wanted to get to his left rear and give him a chance to win the race. I got more satisfaction out of that than doing something like [what Gibbs did].”
Gragson was not the only JRM driver to show support for Jones. His future teammates Justin Allgaier and Josh Berry talked to him for a while on pit road after the race, with Allgaier embracing Jones for a long time.
After the race, the @JRMotorsports drivers of @J_Allgaier and @joshberry both came over to show support for @BrandonJonesRac pic.twitter.com/WoIkvrW9Ng
— Michael Massie (@m_massie22) October 29, 2022
“I just told him [Jones] that he deserved better, which he did,” Berry told Frontstretch. “I just can’t believe what I saw there. I’ve raced my whole life since I was a little boy, and I just can’t believe that they would treat each other like that.
“We saw it earlier this year once. It’s just hard to believe. Dale [Earnhardt Jr.], Kelley [Earnhardt Miller], everybody at our company would expect better out of us in those moments. Like I said, I just really couldn’t believe it.”
Allgaier actually benefitted the most from Jones getting wrecked. Had Jones won, then it would’ve bumped the No. 7 team out of the Championship 4. Instead, Allgaier gets to race for his first NXS title, but he was still empathetic toward his future teammate Jones.
“Future teammate or not, he’s a good friend,” Allgaier said. “We missed out on making the final four last year because of the way the race worked out, and I know the emotions right now from his side. I hate it for those guys.”
Several other drivers took to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the move.
I miss J.D
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) October 29, 2022
Using the bumper used to be an art
— landon cassill (@landoncassill) October 29, 2022
Hope that race isn’t taken as an example by anyone coming up racing as how it’s supposed to be done.
— Erik Jones (@Erik_Jones) October 29, 2022
As for Jones, he considered Gibbs a friend prior to the incident but this fractured their relationship.
“I didn’t expect to get wrecked into [turn] 1, that’s for sure,” Jones said. “Me and Ty have always been kind of friends, but I lost all respect today. I know a lot of guys on pit road have [lost respect] for him [too].”
And while some might expect Jones to do something to prevent Gibbs from winning the championship next week, Jones said he’s just focused on trying to win the race.
“I can’t sit here and think, ‘I got to go ruin Ty Gibbs’ day at Phoenix,'” Jones said. “I got to think about how can I go win Phoenix, and that’s gonna give me the most possible momentum heading into next year, which I feel really strong about and having a really good opportunity to go win six times the races I did this year, I think.
“… He’s made plenty of enemies, so I don’t have to do much. Eventually, it’ll take care of itself.”
NASCAR RACE WEEKEND CENTRAL: MARTINSVILLE
Michael Massie joined Frontstretch in 2017 and has served as the Content Director since 2020.
Massie, a Richmond, Va., native, has covered NASCAR, IndyCar, SRX and the CARS Tour. Outside of motorsports, the Virginia Tech grad and Green Bay Packers minority owner can be seen cheering on his beloved Hokies and Packers.