Sad news from the sports world. Legendary NFL coach and Nascar owner Joe Gibbs, who won a championship with the Washington Redskins only to retire and become one of the all-time great owners in racing history, lost his son and team executive Coy Gibbs over the weekend.
The late Coy Gibbs was just 49 and passed mysteriously in his sleep. No word yet on a cause of death. To make matters sadder, Gibbs grandson and Coy Gibbs son Ty had only hours earlier won the Xfinity Series Saturday night. Gibbs was set to run for Curt Busch on Sunday when he had to leave for what apparently was the death of his father, Coy.
Coy Gibbs, the vice chairman of NASCAR’s Joe Gibbs Racing, has died, the race team announced Sunday afternoon hours before the Cup Series’ championship race was set to begin. He was 49.
Gibbs’ son, Ty, won the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship on Saturday night. He was set to race for Kurt Busch in the Cup Series finale but was removed due to a family emergency. Hours later, the team revealed Coy Gibbs died.
It is with great sorrow that Joe Gibbs Racing confirms that Coy Gibbs (co-owner) went to be with the Lord in his sleep last night. The family appreciates all the thoughts and prayers and asks for privacy at this time.
— Joe Gibbs Racing (@JoeGibbsRacing) November 6, 2022
Coy Gibbs coached in the NFL with his father in Washington from 2004 through 2007 and played for the Stanford Cardinal from 1991 to 1994. While seemingly a fit man with no known history of medical issues, it remains to be seen what exactly happened that would cause a healthy middle-aged man to pass in his sleep. Coy Gibbs even addressed the media after son Ty won the Xfinity race.
“It is with great sorrow that Joe Gibbs Racing confirms that Coy Gibbs (co-owner) went to be with the Lord in his sleep last night. The family appreciates all the thoughts and prayers and asks for privacy at this time,” the race team tweeted.
After Ty Gibbs won at Phoenix, Coy Gibbs talked to reporters about the win. He was the vice chairman at Joe Gibbs Racing.
“When you start this day, you just want to get it over with, you just want to get past it,” he said. “I think he’s just doubled down and did his job after making a huge mistake last week. It was fun to watch.”
Truly a sad turn of events for the Gibbs family. Joe Gibbs is one of the most loved and respected figures in all of sports and has exhibited excellence in pretty much everything he has done. Coy and Ty have followed in his footsteps with the NFL, and later on racing.
Ty Gibbs is a rising star in the sport, and Joe is still active with the team. It’s a huge loss to the Gibbs team and family, and to racing in general. Prayers for the Gibbs family and hopes that nothing is found in any subsequent toxicology reports.
