Following the much-discussed run-in between Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Joe Gibbs Racing personnel gathered this week in Kansas City to address the incident and its implications for the team. The Denny Hamlin JGR team meeting was reportedly productive, but key figures have chosen not to share the full details with the public.
Team Seeks Unity Following New Hampshire Tension
As the NASCAR Cup Series moved its focus to Kansas Speedway for the Hollywood Casino 400, discussions about the team clash lingered in the garage area. The race, set for Sunday at 3 p.m., serves as a crucial playoff event — and as an opportunity for the Joe Gibbs Racing group to realign after recent internal strife. The organization, which had swept the opening playoff round, aims to re-center and refocus its efforts to maintain momentum through the postseason.
Last weekend’s controversy erupted when Denny Hamlin, a playoff contender, made contact with Ty Gibbs, who is not in contention for the championship this year. The incident led to heated debate over how teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing, especially those with differing playoff statuses, should approach racing each other. Hamlin had publicly hoped team leadership would step in to clarify expectations and maintain team harmony on track. According to JGR team management, all relevant points have been addressed and implementation now rests with the drivers through the remainder of the postseason.
Productive but Private Talks Among Drivers and Management
Denny Hamlin assessed the outcome of the week’s meetings, saying,
“Yeah, I think they’re in a good place,”
— Denny Hamlin, Driver. He added,
“You know, we had some meetings this week. I thought they were all productive meetings, but the guts of that are obviously going to need to be confidential.”
— Denny Hamlin, Driver.
According to Chris Gabehart, competition director at Joe Gibbs Racing, transparent dialogue was prioritized.
“It was just what I said last week,”
said Gabehart. He continued,
“Every now and then when you compete towards the front at a high level, you’ve got to go over these things and understand that everybody’s racing for something, and everybody’s got to be heard, and then we’ve got to try to come to a resolution on ‘how do we how do we race moving forward?’ And that’s exactly what happened. I mean, I’m not going to get into any of the details, and frankly, actions speak louder than words, right? That’s true of anyone in here, not just JGR drivers. So, got to focus on Kansas and know that we did our part this week, and everybody said their piece, and we’ll move on from there.”
— Chris Gabehart, Competition Director.
While Ty Gibbs had limited opportunity to speak publicly as media attention grew during Kansas Speedway’s qualifying rounds, Hamlin confirmed that all four JGR Cup drivers participated in the closed-door sessions.
“All the drivers had an opportunity to speak and try to come up with a plan,”
said Hamlin, followed by,
“and I think we did our best to come up with one. That’s it. That’s all I have.”
— Denny Hamlin, Driver.
Christopher Bell and Teammate Dynamics
Christopher Bell, another Joe Gibbs Racing driver, was caught up in the aftermath of the incident at New Hampshire. While avoiding Ty Gibbs’ car following its crash, Bell had anticipated that contact might occur and took evasive action to protect his own position in the race. Bell, who finished sixth and was the highest JGR finisher last week, offered his perspective, stating,
“I think it’s definitely fair to say that a line was crossed and that was bad,”
and continued,
“We don’t need to get any teammates wrecked. Hopefully we do better moving forward, and I think that’s the goal for us to race each other better moving forward.”
— Christopher Bell, Driver.
Hamlin Reflects on His Actions and Future Cooperation
Denny Hamlin, reflecting with regret on the situation, admitted,
“I mean, certainly, absolutely. I think that I definitely got hotter under the collar,”
and in a moment of candor, acknowledged,
“It went too far on my end, and certainly there’s things that I wish I could have done a little differently.”
— Denny Hamlin, Driver.
Implications for Joe Gibbs Racing and Playoff Hopes
The intense feelings and underlying tension from the recent team clash have arguably tested the resilience and internal cohesion of Joe Gibbs Racing. As the team prepares for the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, the organization is faced with the real challenge of putting private solutions into public practice. The way Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, Christopher Bell, and the rest of the JGR team respond in the upcoming races could influence not only their playoff outcomes, but also shape the narrative around team dynamics for other organizations in the garage. With stakes that include postseason ambitions and reputational legacy, the spotlight remains on how Joe Gibbs Racing will navigate the aftermath and forge unity as the competition intensifies.
