Ty Gibbs Admits to Hiding Significant Injury Last Season: 'It Sucked'

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Thomas Carelli | Last updated Feb 12, 2026 5:05 PM ET

Injuries often loom large, as in the case of Brad Keselowski. Yet, sometimes, they fly under the radar. In Ty Gibbs's case, it flew under the radar. In a podcast episode with PRN's Garage Pass, Gibbs casually admitted that he ran a half-marathon in late December. However, that was not the big news. Gibbs revealed that he broke his heel mid-season last year. Nothing to see here?

Though it is unclear exactly when this happened, Gibbs went on to say, "You would've noticed it if you were paying attention." Clearly, no one was paying that close of attention as this went unknown in the news cycle. As a key part of the body in racing a racecar, this was not good and may have affected his performance.

Ty Gibbs Reveals Mid-Season Broken Heel

Ty Gibbs reveals he broke his heel in the middle of the year last season

"No one knew about that."

Here's what he had to say about it ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/bu9pCJB0Bw
— PRN (@PRNlive) February 12, 2026

Gibbs never revealed how or exactly when this happened. He labeled this injury as from "being stupid." This may have limited his performance; did it?

Being that it occurred midseason, we can review a subset of races, ranging from a 24th-place finish in May at the Coca-Cola 600 to a 22nd-place finish in August at the Southern 500.

In this time, Gibbs took the green flag in 15 races. He would earn five top-10 finishes, and on the other end, he would finish outside the top-25 only twice. This chalks up to an average finishing position of 15.6. In the season's entirety, Gibbs averaged an averaging finishing position of 13.6.

The data shows that Gibbs performed about 15% worse than usual. Given the minimal variance in a highly volatile sport, it can be concluded that this heel injury had little effect on Gibbs. He will be fully healthy, especially given that he ran a half-marathon. Gibbs will be eligible in the Daytona Duels and the Daytona 500.

What to Expect this Season?

Aug 31, 2025; Darlington, South Carolina, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Ty Gibbs (54) during the Cookouts Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images© Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Gibbs has yet to find victory lane in two seasons for Joe Gibbs Racing. The pressure is now on as his counterparts regularly win multiple races in a calendar year.

According to Spotrac estimates, Gibbs is under contract with Joe Gibbs Racing through 2027. He is a long-term option, and Joe's grandson will likely remain here, even if failing to win again.

In 2024, Gibbs became the listed owner of his No. 54 Toyota. This is noteworthy, as Gibbs joins only Denny Hamlin as a Joe Gibbs Racing-listed owner of his own car—the move in that regard reflects family orientation. Joe Gibbs is giving his grandson further standing within the team as a long-term play. The roots embed deeper with the family name.

As the expectations for Gibbs are high in 2026, the pressure is not. Ty Gibbs is with this team and will remain here. Hopefully, this can keep him relaxed and get him to victory lane in 2026, as many fans expect.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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