Sunday's race at Bristol Motor Speedway proved to be a special one for Ty Gibbs, with the Joe Gibbs Racing star taking his first NASCAR Cup Series victory.

It certainly didn't come easy for the driver of the No. 54 Toyota, with Gibbs forced to fend off Ryan Blaney - who had the quickest car on track all afternoon - in a dramatic overtime finish.

In doing so, Gibbs became only the sixth driver all-time to win their first Cup Series race at Bristol, something Dale Earnhardt first achieved in 1979, and was since matched by Rusty Wallace (1986), Ernie Irvan (1990), Elliott Sadler (2001) and Kurt Busch (2002).

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Ty Gibbs reacts to matching Dale Earnhardt statistic

In his race-winning press conference, Gibbs was told about that statistic, and he sounded pretty excited about it.

"It’s super cool," he told the media. "Those are the most bad-ass guys there ever was."

Gibbs also reserved special mention for Kurt Busch, whom he says has been a big help to his career so far. Gibbs filled in for Busch at 23XI for the remainder of 2022 after the latter suffered an injury in a crash at Pocono.

"Kurt having his first win, me having my first win, it’s super cool," Gibbs continued.
"I’m in the Monster colors. Obviously Kurt was in them, too.

"Kurt has been such a big help for me in my career. I really appreciate him, as well. I appreciate all the things I learn. It’s an honor."

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Closest NASCAR finish at Bristol for 35 years

Although it wasn't a record, Gibbs' winning margin over Blaney was also the smallest margin of victory at Bristol since 1991.

When the pair crossed the line, they were separated by just 0.055 seconds in Tennessee, highlighting just what a dramatic finish it was to the Food City 500.

If that wasn't enough, Gibbs' win was also the first for a driver of the No. 54 car in the Cup Series since Lennie Pond at Talladega in 1978.

All statistics credit goes to NASCAR Insights on X.

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