Ty Gibbs had 'false sense' of ease before racing in NASCAR Cup Series 

Ty Gibbs made NASCAR racing look easy during his climb up the stock car racing ladder. 

Gibbs won 18 of his 47 ARCA starts,11 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series races and the 2022 O'Reilly Series championship before he became a full-time Cup Series driver in 2023. 

And while Gibbs has also made Cup racing look easy in 2026 — he's coming off his first Cup win at Bristol last week and has six top 10s this season — racing at NASCAR's highest level is far from easy. It certainly wasn't easy for Gibbs when he started.

But his success in the lower divisions gave him a "false sense" that it would be.

Ty Gibbs' NASCAR journey wasn't easy

"You come from [O'Reilly' and the guys aren't as good, obviously," Gibbs said Saturday at Kansas Speedway. "I think I got a false sense of how easy it was. Same with ARCA vs Cup. It's not even remotely close.

"[Cup racing] is hard for sure. You gotta get your a-s kicked to get better. I love the challenge. I've enjoyed the whole ride. I love every second of it."

Gibbs, 23, has 22 top fives and 39 top 10s in 132 Cup Series starts, though he's off to the best start of his career in 2026 and looks to be a bona fide title threat through the first quarter of the season. 

Quotes provided by NASCAR Media.