Mickey Gibbs

Mickey Gibbs (born March 15, 1958) is an American professional stock car racing driver from Alabama. Gibbs won races in the ALL PRO Super Series, NASCAR All-American Challenge Series, American Speed Association, and ARCA ranks, along with the 1983 Snowball Derby before reaching the pinnacle of stock car racing, then known as the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.^[1] He is not related to highly successful NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs.

Mickey Gibbs
Born	(1958-03-15) March 15, 1958 (age 67) Glencoe, Alabama
NASCAR Cup Series career
36 races run over 4 years
1991 position	34th
Best finish	34th (1991)
First race	1988 Goodwrench 500 (Rockingham)
Last race	1991 Pepsi 400 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish	170th (1982)
First race	1982 Goody's 300 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0

Climbing the Ladder

After making a lone start in the first race of the newly revamped Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series, Gibbs was a regular in the ALL PRO Super Series in the early years of the series. He scored his first win in 1983 at the famed Birmingham International Raceway, roughly an hour's drive from his hometown of Glencoe. He ranked 8th in the championship. He also held off former Winston Cup race winner and fellow All PRO regular Jody Ridley to win that December's Snowball Derby;^[2][3] a race that also featured Bobby Allison, Rusty Wallace, and Gary Balough among other contemporary and future stars.

In 1985, Gibbs moved to the All-American Challenge Series. He would win five races and place fourth in the points, behind Stanley Smith, Ronnie Sanders, and champion Dave Mader III. He would score another win in 1986, while not running all the races. Gibbs had a strong 1987 ALL PRO Series campaign. He won six races, including two more at BIR (one of which also counted towards the ASA championship), but was not as consistent as champion Jody Ridley or second place Steve Grissom. Gibbs was third on the season.

1988 saw Gibbs in a brighter spotlight after finding success in the ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series. Holding off wiley veteran racers Red Farmer and Charlie Glotzbach, Gibbs won the ARCA 200 at Daytona.^[4] He made five Winston Cup starts that year before winning the ARCA season finale at Atlanta, with a dominant performance that saw him defeat newly crowned Busch Grand National champion Tommy Ellis and new ARCA champ Tracy Leslie.

Winston Cup Career

After winning the ARCA 200 at Daytona, Gibbs failed to qualify for the Daytona 500. His first Winston Cup start came at Rockingham, driving for his father Don Gibbs. He started 25th, but was relegated to 35th because of an engine failure just before halfway in the Goodwrench 500. He would miss the field again at Atlanta, but led briefly under caution at Talladega (less than an hour from Glencoe). His only finish among his five starts was at Michigan, where he came home 31st.

Gibbs began the 1989 season driving for Winkle Motorsports. After missing the Daytona 500 again, he took the green flag in Buddy Arrington's car. Though he finished twentieth at Rockingham for Winkle, he sat a disappointing 31st in points after Atlanta and was released from the team. Following his release from Winkle, he raced for both Dingman Brothers Racing and his father's team. The father-son duo's 1990 season began by missing Daytona, but that was followed by respectable finishes of nineteenth at Richmond and fifteenth at Rockingham. In an abbreviated season, Gibbs attempted twelve races and started nine.

1991 appeared to provide the break Gibbs needed. He signed with Team III Racing, owned by Sam McMahon III, for the full season, with championship-winning crew chief Barry Dodson. seventeenth at Daytona yielded the biggest payday of his career (nearly $25,000). Gibbs also came home nineteenth at Talladega, and a career-best fourteenth at Sears Point and Michigan. Though he sat a respectable 25th in points after the Pepsi 400 at Daytona, he and the unsponsored team parted ways. He was replaced by Dick Trickle and others to complete the season.^[5] Gibbs would not return to the Winston Cup Series.

Final Races and Summary

Gibbs last known racing exploits came in a return to ARCA, driving for Bobby Jones in 1992. He demonstrated he still had the ability to win, leading 121 of 156 laps in a victory at Texas World Speedway. His last start came at Atlanta, but ended in a crash after halfway.

Gibbs competed in 36 Winston Cup races between 1988 and 1991, and one Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series race.^[6] His success in the lower ranks included six wins in the All-American Challenge Series, seven ALL PRO Series wins (one of which doubled as an ASA win), three ARCA wins (including the 1988 Daytona 200), and the 1983 Snowball Derby.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	NWCC	Pts	Ref
1988	Gibbs Racing	01	Ford	DAY DNQ	RCH	CAR 35	ATL DNQ	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL 40	CLT	DOV	RSD	POC	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL 34	GLN	MCH 31	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	CLT 39	NWS	CAR	PHO	ATL	50th	283	[7]
1989	Winkle Motorsports	48	Pontiac	DAY DNQ	CAR 20	ATL 39	RCH 29	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL DNQ	CLT	DOV	SON	POC	MCH	DAY	POC														41st	508	[8]
	Arrington Racing	67	Pontiac	DAY 34
	Dingman Brothers Racing	50	Pontiac																	TAL 25	GLN							CLT 26	NWS	CAR	PHO
	Gibbs Racing	01	Ford																			MCH DNQ	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR					ATL 38
1990				DAY DNQ	RCH 19	CAR 15	ATL 39	DAR 38	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL 19	CLT DNQ	DOV	SON	POC	MCH DNQ	DAY 32	POC	TAL 22	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH 34	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT 21	CAR	PHO	ATL	37th	755	[9]
1991	Team III Racing	24	Pontiac	DAY 17	RCH 23	CAR 20	ATL 25	DAR 22	BRI 19	NWS 33	MAR 25	TAL 15	CLT 34	DOV 30	SON 14	POC 30	MCH 14	DAY 27	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	PHO	ATL	34th	1401	[10]

Daytona 500

Year	Team	Manufacturer	Start	Finish
1988	Gibbs Racing	Ford	DNQ
1989	Winkle Motorsports	Pontiac	DNQ
	Arrington Racing	Pontiac	42	34
1990	Gibbs Racing	Ford	DNQ
1991	Team III Racing	Pontiac	38	17