Hamlin and Gibbs: Tension at JGR after crash; Are there team orders?

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Following the incident between teammates Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs, tensions have calmed at Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin and Gibbs were involved in a crash in the previous race, where Hamlin hit Gibbs for not yielding the way in New Hampshire. Hamlin is competing in the playoffs in search of his first championship in the Cup Series, while Gibbs, grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, is not eligible for the title. After the contact on the track, Hamlin questioned over the team radio if the organization was afraid to give orders to the 22-year-old young driver.

I definitely got too heated and went too far on my part.

Denny Hamlin

Hamlin admitted he went too far and that there were things he could have done differently. His teammate Christopher Bell, for his part, pointed out that the message was clear and did not need to be expressed on how Toyota drivers should compete with each other at this point in the season, where there are six races left to crown the champion.

We shouldn’t crash into each other. That was very clear and blatantly wrong and I hope it doesn’t happen again. I think it was already clear to us before, and we just need to respect each other.

Christopher Bell

Meanwhile, Chase Briscoe, also a JGR driver, achieved his seventh pole position of the year and will lead the grid on Sunday in Kansas, alongside Hamlin. Briscoe’s seven poles are the most in a single season since Kyle Busch in 2017.

It’s likely that Briscoe and Hamlin will compete cleanly at the start of the race, something that Kyle Larson, a Hendrick Motorsports driver, considers correct. Larson believes that Gibbs competed too aggressively against a title contender, who is also his teammate, early in the previous race.

Larson explained that the expectations about how Hendrick’s drivers should compete are clearly defined and are evident on the track every week. Larson mentioned that the drivers always try to make things easier for their teammates. He cited the help he received from Alex Bowman in the previous race as an example. He concluded that Hamlin probably expected that type of cooperation, as all teams with multiple cars have had conversations about these expectations. Therefore, Larson understood Hamlin’s frustration and expects an improvement in the team’s performance.