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NASCAR World Shocked By Sudden Death Of Coy Gibbs, Hours After Son Ty’s Xfinity Series Championship
Coy Gibbs, the co-owner of Joe Gibbs Racing, had just seen his 20-year-old son Ty take home the NASCAR Xfinity Series title. He died in his sleep hours later.
What should have been a weekend of celebration quickly turned into one of mourning for NASCAR’s Gibbs family following the death Sunday of Coy Gibbs, son of NFL coaching legend Joe Gibbs, father of rising racing star Ty Gibbs and co-owner of Joe Gibbs Racing. He was 49.
“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,” JGR said in a statement.
No cause of death has been released.
Gibbs’ death came hours after his son Ty, 20, won the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship at Phoenix Raceway Saturday, ahead of his expected shift to full-time Cup Series driver next season, replacing Kyle Busch at JGR.
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The celebration between father and son was short-lived, as Coy died in his sleep Sunday morning.
Coy, the vice chairman of JGR, had taken on a greater role in the organization after his older brother, J.D. Gibbs, had to step away while battling a degenerative neurological disease, according to NBC Sports. J.D. died in January 2019, also at the age of 49.
“We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Coy Gibbs,” NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France said. “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.”
Coy was a college football player at Stanford University from 1991-1994 before joining his father’s NFL coaching staff as an offensive quality control assistant during Joe Gibbs’ second stint in Washington. Coy later went on to have a brief racing career, featuring in NASCAR’s Busch and Trucks Series, according to the Associated Press.
The NASCAR community was quick to rally around the Gibbs family after news of Coy’s death.
NBC Sports analyst Dale Jarrett, who used to race for JGR, reflected on the Gibbs family’s importance to the racing world and to him personally during the network’s pre-race show.
“It’s family to me because of my association and the opportunities they gave me,” Jarrett said, according to NBC Sports. “To get to know this family and to see Coy come from a college football career, try racing, do anything and everything to be a part of the family business there. And to bring Ty along and put him in a championship situation.
“If there’s any consolation in thinking about this, he was able to watch Ty win his championship yesterday. But my heart, my thoughts and prayers to Joe, Pat, Ty and everyone in the Gibbs family.”
Coy Gibbs is survived by his wife, Heather, and their four children.
