BRISTOL, TENN. — Ty Gibbs, 23, earned his first NASCAR Cup Series victory at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 12, 2026, holding off two former champions in a two-lap overtime shootout. The win came in Gibbs's 131st Cup Series start and his fourth season in the series.

Gibbs stayed on track with his No. 54 Toyota under a late caution, inheriting the race lead when Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson pitted. A yellow flag flew on lap 498, leading to the first overtime restart at Bristol in 11 years. Blaney and Larson restarted outside the top five on tires nearly 100 laps fresher than Gibbs's, but Gibbs led the final 25 laps and fended off both drivers to take the checkered flag.

"I didn't really know or care if I was going to win or not. I thought the race was awesome. I really appreciate always racing Ryan Blaney and Kyle, too." Gibbs said after the race. He also spoke about his late father, Coy Gibbs, who died in his sleep on Nov. 6, 2022 — one day after Gibbs won the championship in NASCAR's second-highest division. "I've never seen somebody work so hard in my life, him and my mom. I wouldn't be here unless it was for him." he said.

Team owner Joe Gibbs, Ty's grandfather and a NASCAR Hall of Fame member and former Super Bowl-winning coach, reflected on the victory. "This is one of my best experiences. When I think about Coy, he brought Ty up the entire time. I know he's probably watching." Joe Gibbs said.

Blaney, the 2023 Cup Series champion, started from pole position and led 190 laps before the late pit stop. He finished second in the No. 12 Ford. "Great battle for sure. I fought a lot of different cars." Blaney said.

Larson, the defending Cup Series champion, won the first two stages and led a race-high 284 of 505 laps but finished third in the No. 5 Chevrolet. He remained winless in his past 32 races. Tyler Reddick finished fourth and Chase Briscoe fifth, both driving Toyotas.

Gibbs had come close to a Cup victory before, finishing second at Darlington Raceway in 2024 and second in the Chicago street race in 2025. He moved to the Cup Series in 2023.

Elsewhere in the field, William Byron started from the rear after unapproved adjustments to his No. 24 Chevrolet, which had experienced steering problems in practice and qualifying. Byron finished five laps down. Alex Bowman, who had missed four Cup Series races due to vertigo, started 27th and finished last after being involved in a multicar crash started by Shane van Gisbergen.

The Cup Series moves to Kansas Speedway on April 19, the first of three consecutive races at tracks 1.5 miles or longer. Hendrick Motorsports has won three of the past four races at that track.