Ty Gibbs wasn’t one of the two drivers fighting on pit road at Bristol Motor Speedway last weekend. Somehow, he still managed to leave his mark on the chaos.
As Ryan Blaney and Carson Hocevar’s post-race confrontation unfolded, Gibbs was caught on video tossing a water bottle toward the scrum. The bottle missed the drivers and instead struck Frontstretch reporter Michael Massie’s phone, sending it to the ground.
A week later at Kansas Speedway, Gibbs finally filled in the blanks about the bizarre moment, including what prompted him to throw the bottle in the first place.
“I obviously watched the beginning of it [the fight] and then I saw Blaney shoot back in there and then I just tossed it,” Gibbs told reporters Saturday, Sept. 26. “Unfortunately hit [Michael Massie].”
Gibbs also acknowledged NASCAR had spoken with him about the incident. His description of that conversation was considerably less formal.
“I went to the principal’s this morning,” Gibbs said. “Just had a chat. Just don’t do it. … I completely understand. Definitely shouldn’t have done that.”
Ty Gibbs Explains His Water Bottle Toss at Bristol
The water bottle became one of the stranger side stories from a post-race scene already packed with them.
Blaney and Hocevar’s issues began on the track late in the Sept. 19 race at Bristol and spilled onto pit road afterward. The two drivers became involved in a physical confrontation as crew members and NASCAR personnel attempted to separate them.
Gibbs was watching nearby.
According to his explanation Saturday, Gibbs saw the initial confrontation and then watched Blaney go back toward the scrum. That’s when Gibbs decided to toss the bottle.
It did not land where he intended.
Massie later wrote on X that he was OK after the bottle struck his phone, although the phone picked up minor scratches when it hit the ground.
The unexpected victim of the toss made for an even better moment when Gibbs met with reporters at Kansas.
A Frontstretch reporter handed Gibbs a water bottle during the media availability, drawing an immediate reaction.
“Cheers to Frontstretch. I like it,” Gibbs said.
For all the humor surrounding the moment a week later, Gibbs did not dodge responsibility. NASCAR did not issue him a formal penalty, but the 23-year-old made clear Saturday that he understood why officials wanted to address it with him.
“Definitely shouldn’t have done that,” Gibbs said.
Gibbs Pokes Fun at Attention From Bristol Incident
By Saturday, Gibbs was also more than willing to laugh at just how much attention one flying water bottle had generated.
With a larger-than-usual group of reporters gathered around him at Kansas, Gibbs joked that he may have stumbled upon an unconventional way to guarantee himself a crowd.
“It’s also great to have a lot of people here,” Gibbs said. “Usually there’s no one here for me. This is the most attention I’ll get. Maybe I keep tossing water bottles to get more attention.”
That probably isn’t the lesson NASCAR hoped Gibbs would take from their conversation.
But beneath the joke, Gibbs’ explanation was straightforward. He was watching one of the most chaotic post-race confrontations of the season, saw Blaney head back toward the action and impulsively threw the bottle. A reporter’s phone wound up taking the hit.
One week later, Gibbs owned the mistake and didn’t attempt to dress it up as anything else.
Now the attention turns back to what happens on the track.
Rain washed out Cup Series practice and qualifying at Kansas on Saturday, forcing NASCAR to set the field for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 by its qualifying metric. Gibbs will start fifth as he looks to turn a week dominated by Bristol’s post-race chaos back toward his championship pursuit.
Ty Gibbs Comes Clean About His Role in Wild Blaney-Hocevar Fight