AVONDALE, Ariz. — 1 year later Sudden death of son Koicar owner Joe Gibbs says memories will help fill in the blanks this weekend.
Coy died on Nov. 6, hours after celebrating his son Ty Gibbs’ Xfinity Series victory at Phoenix Raceway. Coy was 49 years old.
“There’s going to be some remembrance of what happened,” Joe Gibbs said recently about returning to Phoenix. “And part of it was, hey, (Coy’s wife) Heather said that with everything that happened at the racetrack, Coy was the happiest she’d ever seen him that night.”
After watching Ty win the Xfinity title a year ago, Coy Gibbs said of his son: …As his father, I have always supported him. ”
Coy ran his family’s supercross and motocross teams from 2008 to 2020. After the passing of his brother JD, he took on a larger role in Joe Gibbs Racing’s NASCAR operations as vice chairman and chief operating officer.
Coy, who played linebacker at Stanford University from 1991 to 1994, competed in the NASCAR Truck Series from 2000 to 2002 and the Xfinity Series from 2002 to 2003. He ran his 97 races between these two series. Coy also helped guide Ty Gibbs’ racing career.
Returning to Phoenix a year later brings back many memories and emotions for those involved with Joe Gibbs Racing.
“I can’t get into Ty’s mind or anything, but I’m sure there’s some influence,” Denny Hamlin said Saturday. “I think he’s done a really good job of focusing on his job and honing it.Obviously, the organization is a lot different than it was a year ago for him. You can do that.”
Ty Gibbs has not spoken publicly about his father’s death, but he is enrolled in Phoenix and plans to compete in Sunday’s race. Thailand started in 11th place.
carp death surprised the NASCAR community Then came the morning of the Cup title race. He was the same age when his older brother JD passed away in January 2019 after a long battle with a degenerative neurological disease.
“Last year was just a whirlwind of emotions,” said Christopher Bell, the only Joe Gibbs Racing driver to compete for the championship last year. “It was very exciting and happy to be competing in my first Championship 4. Things quickly turned around on Sunday morning.”
Team officials met with participants on the morning of the track race and informed them of Coy’s death.
“Management, crew chiefs and everyone involved got together, hugged each other and decided the best thing we could do was try to win for the carp,” crew chief Adam Stevens said.