Coy Gibbs, exec at Joe Gibbs Racing, dies hours after son clinches Xfinity title

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Coy Gibbs, the vice chairman of Joe Gibbs Racing, died Sunday, hours after his son won the Xfinity Series championship. He was 49.

>> Read more trending news

Coy Gibbs, whose father is Pro Football Hall of Famer, NASCAR Hall of Famer and NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs, was at the track at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday to celebrate the series title clinched by his son, Xfinity racer Ty Gibbs, according to The Associated Press.

“I’ve always got his back as his father,” Coy Gibbs said after the race, according to The Athletic. “Watching it today, just to see his determination … it definitely made me proud. It made my wife -- we were both proud, just because he hammered down and did his job. If he wants to do this for a living, he’s going to learn how to do that.”

“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,” Joe Gibbs Racing said in a statement. “The family appreciates all the thoughts and prayers and asks for privacy at this time.”

One of the two children of Joe Gibbs, Coy Gibbs was a former driver and a quality control coach in the NFL for his father with the Washington football team from 2004 to 2007, The Athletic reported.

Joe Gibbs’ other son, J.D. Gibbs, died in 2019 of a neurological disease, ESPN reported.

Coy Gibbs was a linebacker at Stanford. He later joined the motorsports circuit, driving in NASCAR’s Truck Series and Busch Series, and later founded a motorcycle racing team under the Gibbs banner.

After his brother began suffering from brain function problems in 2015, Coy Gibbs was promoted to chief operating officer for JGR, The Athletic reported. Before that, he ran the racing teams MX motorcycle racing team.

NASCAR held a moment of silence for Coy Gibbs before the start of the Cup championship, the AP reported. Kyle Busch, in his final race after 15 years with the team, was crying on pit road before the race began.

“Today we will do what we don’t want to do, but we will unite as a family and race for the name on our chest,” JGR driver Denny Hamlin tweeted on Sunday.

Ty Gibbs did not race Sunday in the season’s final event of the Cup Series, the AP reported.

He was replaced by Daniel Hemric. Jackson Gibbs, son of J.D. Gibbs, on Sunday was on the pit crew of Christopher Bell, who was racing for the title.

“We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Coy Gibbs,” NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France said in a statement. “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.”

“Racing is a family and the relationships within the entire garage go so much deeper than on-track competition,” David Wilson, president of Toyota Racing Development, said in a statement. “Today, we lost a dear part of our family. The loss of Coy Gibbs is devastating to everyone at Toyota and TRD.”

Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder said in a statement that the organization was “devastated” to learn of Coy Gibbs’ death.

Joe Gibbs, 81, coached the Washington NFL franchise for 16 years over two stints -- from 1981 to 1992 and 2004 to 2007 -- and won three Super Bowls.

©2022 Cox Media Group