KANSAS CITY, Kan. – After an incident between teammates, calm has returned to Joe Gibbs Racing, following last week’s run-in between Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs. Hamlin, who is competing in the playoffs in search of his first Cup championship, and Gibbs, the grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, had a tense moment on the track. Hamlin, visibly upset, even questioned on the team radio if the organization was afraid to give orders to the 22-year-old young driver. Hamlin, the three-time Daytona 500 champion, admitted that he got carried away by anger and that “things definitely got out of control”.
Christopher Bell, JGR teammate, stated that the message was clear and didn’t need to be expressed about how Toyota drivers should race each other at this point in the season. There are six races left to crown the Cup champion.There are things I should have done differently.
Denny Hamlin
Meanwhile, Chase Briscoe, a JGR driver, achieved his seventh pole position of the year, leading the starting grid on Sunday in Kansas. Briscoe will start alongside Hamlin, marking the most poles in a single season since Kyle Busch in 2017.We shouldn’t crash. That was very clear and obviously incorrect and hopefully it won’t happen again. I think it was already clear to us before, and we just need to respect each other.
Christopher Bell
Briscoe and Hamlin are expected to compete cleanly at the start of the race, which, according to Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports driver, is the right thing to do. Gibbs, in the previous race, was competing too aggressively against a title contender who is also his teammate.
Larson added that the expectations on how Hendrick’s drivers should race each other are clearly defined and evident on the track every week. The situation, according to Larson, is summed up in finding ways to make things easier for teammates. He highlighted the teamwork that is often not seen on television, such as the support he received from Alex Bowman in the previous race. Hamlin’s frustration, according to Larson, was understandable, and he expects an improvement in the team’s performance after the week’s conversations.I think in the end, if you’re racing for a win, you’re racing for a win. You’re never going to give up a win in the Cup for a teammate. But I think if you’re in the middle of the pack in a stage, yes, that expectation should be met.
Kyle Larson
