DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 14: Taylor Gray 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Operation 300 Toyota waves to the crowd prior to the running of the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA O Reilly Auto Parts United Rentals 300 on February 14, 2026 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL.Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire AUTO: FEB 14 NASCAR OÕReilly Auto Parts Series United Rentals 300 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon2602142902300
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 14: Taylor Gray 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Operation 300 Toyota waves to the crowd prior to the running of the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA O Reilly Auto Parts United Rentals 300 on February 14, 2026 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL.Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire AUTO: FEB 14 NASCAR OÕReilly Auto Parts Series United Rentals 300 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon2602142902300
Apr 19, 2026, 10:30 AM CUT
Ty Gibbs’ Team Driver Taylor Gray Outduels Creed for Kansas Win
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Taylor Gray held off Sheldon Creed to claim the 2026 Kansas Lottery 300 at the Kansas Speedway. Gray, who races for the Ty Gibbs co-owned team Joe Gibbs Racing, claimed his first win of the season.
"First off - thank you to everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing, TOYOTA RACING, Operation 300- and how about (crew chief) Jason Ratcliff. Man, that pit call was awesome," Gray told the media after the race.
"I knew we had a car capable of winning. I thought the 20 (Brandon Jones) was better than us in before the green flag cycle, but you just have to stay locked in," he added as per the Speedway Digest.
Having started his race from 10th place, Gray improved significantly to finish Stage 1 in second place. In Stage 2, the JGR star moved down to seventh place, only to come back in the final one, where he held off Sheldon Creed by 0.718 seconds.
AUSTIN, TX - FEBRUARY 27: Taylor Gray 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Operation 300 Toyota drives during practice for the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA OReilly Auto Parts Series Focused Health 250 on February 27, 2026, at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX. Photo by Karl Anderson/Icon Sportswire AUTO: FEB 27 NASCAR OReilly Auto Parts Series Focused Health 250 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon272260227041250
AUSTIN, TX - FEBRUARY 27: Taylor Gray 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Operation 300 Toyota drives during practice for the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA OReilly Auto Parts Series Focused Health 250 on February 27, 2026, at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX. Photo by Karl Anderson/Icon Sportswire AUTO: FEB 27 NASCAR OReilly Auto Parts Series Focused Health 250 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon272260227041250
"We needed to be a little bit freer - Jason made a really good adjustment on the car, a really good pit call. Can't thank everyone enough," Gray added.
Justin Allgaier, Jesse Love, and Brent Crews wrapped up the top five, while William Byron, Cole Custer, Brandon Jones, Sam Mayer, and Ryan Sieg finished the race in the top 10. Following his recent success, Ty Gibbs is calling for a fundamental change to the sport.
Ty Gibbs Wants to Make NASCAR More Physical
JGR star Ty Gibbs revealed he wants to remove the cool suits. Having won a race in 131 attempts, Gibbs unveiled the idea ahead of the Kansas Speedway race on Sunday.
"I think we should rip all the cool suits out of everyone's cars and make it a more physical sport. I think that would be very entertaining and bring out more emotion, obviously,"
"I think no cool suits-rip 'em all out. I think, honestly, people would be pumped with that, 'cause half the time they break on everybody and make it worse. I think we should rip all of it out, make it more physical."
NASCAR drivers use the cool suit while driving for several safety reasons. These suits, which have specialized tubes to keep cold water flowing during the race, help keep their core body temperature regulated during prolonged race hours.
Removing them would certainly make the sport more physical, but in the long term, it might backfire for the drivers.
Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!
Written by
Sabyasachi Biswas
Edited by
Sagnik Bagchi