Dialed In Journal

Joe Gibbs Racing Co-Owner Heather Gibbs talks in my interview (above) about the planning and heart behind the tribute car honoring the late Kyle Busch that will be driven by Ty Gibbs this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. JGR gave those closest to him the chance to see his M&M’S tribute car up close first this week. The car’s scheme has a mosaic of photos that capture his life as husband, father, championship-winning NASCAR driver, and friend.

Jesse Love crossed the finish line at World Wide Technology Raceway Saturday 0.896 seconds ahead of last week’s Darlington winner, Sheldon Creed, who moved into first place in the Chase standings by three points over top-seeded Justin Allgaier. He draped an “8” flag honoring the late Kyle Busch over his car after the win in tribute.

Victor DiPierro (pictured above 25 years ago) was a rookie NYPD officer when the planes crashed into the Twin Towers. I met Victor DiPierro in New York City years ago when I was there for the NASCAR Champions Banquet. I was at an event and my recorder went missing and the bus was leaving. Victor introduced himself as a NYPD detective and assured me he’d find my recorder and get me to the next stop. He did and we have been friends ever since. Victor has been down at Ground Zero all week.

Ty Gibbs has a low number to start on the dance card with the “Lady in Black” as Darlington Raceway is called. He will start 28th after weather cancelled qualifying Saturday and the race line-up was set by the rule book. Gibbs is fourth in the standings, 40 points from the leader, Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin, as the Chase for the championship begins at Darlington Raceway Sunday. Gibbs just loves racing and pours his time into it.

Sheldon Creed, driver of the #00 Ollie's Chevrolet, celebrates with a burnout as fireworks erupt after winning the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Fleetio 200 at Darlington Raceway on September 05, 2026 (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images) Sheldon Creed, the No. 00 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet driver, left Darlington Raceway with a win and moved to within eight points of regular season champion Justin Allgaier at Darlington Saturday night in NASCAR’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.

I have known Taylor Hamlin, the daughter of NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin and fiancee Jordan Fish since she was a tiny little girl frolicking in Victory Lane with the Monster Energy girls. I have watched her grow up, had her interview her dad for my Father’s Day special when she was little, caught up with her whenever she was in Victory Lane or out on pit road over the years, which was a lot, and I always had a feeling that she was and is truly special.

Photo provided by Wilkinson. I cropped the photo to feature just Brandon for the headline photo. Every photo he provided included his driver and I posted those photos below in the article. Brandon Wilkinson is the spotter at RFK Racing for No.60 driver Ryan Preece. Preece is 31 points below the NASCAR Cup Series Chase cut-off line and this weekend’s Daytona race is the last race to make it in to the Chase for the championship which begins next week.

I have so many photos of Kyle Busch in my archive, with his family, smiling, holding Brexton and beaming in Victory Lane. But I also loved the Kyle Busch in my photo below. The guy who I had to walk up to after he was out of a race, or frustrated or still not happy with his car. KFB was all of that! I love this photo as much as I love the smiling ones. This, too, was KFB.

With two laps to go at Richmond Saturday, Chase Briscoe (Toyota) was behind Joey Logano (Ford) by 2.8 seconds but he couldn’t quite catch him. In the Deadline Room after the race Logano answered questions about whether his team and he have gained confidence in this most recent run. He answered by describing the make up of his veteran championship team.

Imagine the emotion of Heather Gibbs, Co-Owner of Joe Gibbs Racing, as her son Ty Gibbs battled with his JGR teammate Christopher Bell for the Iowa Speedway win! I sat down with Heather this past week from her JGR office to talk about the win. Heather Gibbs is impressive. She stands out to me, from what I have seen close up, to be incredibly honest, unwavering in her ability to be real, yet amazingly strong when the moment calls for it and kind as well, which matters to her a great deal.