Ty Gibbs Just Set a Bizarre NASCAR Record at Bristol

Ty Gibbs found himself in a position Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway that sounds almost impossible.

He was running third.

He was also a lap down.

And that combination put the Joe Gibbs Racing driver into the NASCAR record book.

During the Bass Pro Shops Night Race, Gibbs received the free pass while scored in third place, making him the highest-scored free-pass car since NASCAR implemented the rule in late 2003.

For a rule designed to help a lapped driver regain a lost lap, seeing the third-place car receive it was about as unusual as it gets.

Ty Gibbs makes NASCAR history from third place

NASCAR’s free-pass rule is straightforward: When a caution comes out, the highest-running eligible driver one lap down is allowed to regain that lap.

It is why the beneficiary is commonly known as the “Lucky Dog.”

What made Gibbs’ situation remarkable wasn’t receiving the free pass. It was where he was running when he received it.

Despite being one lap behind, Gibbs was scored third in the running order. When the caution arrived, that made the No. 54 Toyota the free-pass car.

According to NASCAR statistician Seth Eggert, no driver had ever been scored that high while receiving the free pass since the rule was introduced in late 2003.

Third place. One lap down. Lucky Dog.

All three were true at once.

Only NASCAR could produce a scoring line quite like that.

Ty Gibbs adds another wrinkle to a memorable Bristol night

The statistical oddity came during an already significant night for Gibbs.

The 23-year-old is driving a special M&M’s Toyota at Bristol honoring the late Kyle Busch, bringing one of the most recognizable paint schemes of Busch’s career back to the Cup Series.

Gibbs was also joined by Busch’s son, Brexton, during driver introductions. Brexton walked onto the stage alongside Gibbs and received a huge ovation from the Bristol crowd before the race.

Once the green flag dropped, however, Gibbs had a race to manage.

And at some point along the way, he ended up occupying one of the strangest positions imaginable: near the very front of the running order without actually being on the lead lap.

The free pass erased that deficit. It also produced a NASCAR first.

Plenty of records require years to chase. Others demand hundreds of laps led or a trip to Victory Lane.

Gibbs found one nobody was necessarily looking for.

More than two decades after NASCAR introduced the free pass, no Lucky Dog had ever been running as high as third.

Until Saturday night at Bristol.