Cycle News Staff | November 7, 2022
Former owner of the JGRMX racing team, Coy Gibbs, passed away in his sleep over the November 5-6 weekend in Arizona. He was just 49.
“It is with great sorrow that Joe Gibbs Racing confirms that Coy Gibbs went to be with the Lord in his sleep last night,” a statement from Joe Gibbs Racing reads. “The family appreciates all the thoughts and prayers and asks for privacy at this time.”
Gibbs was the vice chairman and chief operation officer of Joe Gibb Racing and was also the son of NFL coaching legend and NASCAR Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs and the father of 19-year-old Ty Gibbs, who had just a few hours earlier wrapped up NASCAR’s Xfinity Series Championship for the first time.
The former football player and NASCAR racer, Coy Gibbs had a passion for motocross and established his own race team JGRMX in 2008. The North Carolina-based team evolved into one of the elite racing organizations in both motocross and Supercross over the next 13 years before closing up shop in 2021. The team won several races but never a championship. Many high-profile motorcycle racers competed for the team at one time or another, including James Stewart, Justin Barcia, Chad Reed, Josh Grant and many others.
“This is a tremendous and tragic loss, not just for the motocross community, but motorsports as a whole. Even though he was one of the quietest individuals in the pits, Coy was a giant in the business of racing,” said Davey Coombs, President, MX Sports Pro Racing. “You’d be hard pressed to find someone more knowledgeable and passionate about what it takes to be successful. He never wavered in his commitment to make his motocross and supercross dreams a reality and, as a result, JGRMX was a perennial underdog who consistently defied the odds throughout its tenure in the sport. Coy was a beloved member of our industry, even after the team was forced to shut its doors, and his untimely passing has sent shockwaves around the racing world. He will be deeply missed, and we are eternally grateful for the impact JGRMX left in our corner of motorsports.”