Hamlin and Gibbs: Tension at JGR after crash, what happened?

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Following the incident between teammates Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs, calm has returned to the Joe Gibbs Racing team. The altercation occurred last week, when Hamlin crashed into Gibbs for not yielding the way in New Hampshire. Hamlin, who is in the playoffs and competing for his first Cup Series championship, and Gibbs, grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, made contact on the track. Hamlin questioned via the team radio whether the organization was afraid to give orders to the 22-year-old young driver. Hamlin revealed on Saturday, a day before the race at Kansas Speedway, that everyone had the opportunity to express their opinions in the week’s meeting. The three-time Daytona 500 champion admitted that, in taking Gibbs out of his way, “I definitely lost my cool, and I went too far.”

There are things I should have done differently.

Denny Hamlin

Christopher Bell, JGR teammate, indicated that the message was clear and didn’t need to be verbalized about how Toyota drivers should compete with each other at this point in the season. There are six races left to crown the Cup champion.

We shouldn’t crash into each other. That was very clear and was 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

Meanwhile, JGR driver Chase Briscoe secured his seventh pole position of the year, leading the grid on Sunday in Kansas. He will start alongside Hamlin. Briscoe’s seven poles are the most in a single season since Kyle Busch in 2017. Briscoe and Hamlin will likely race cleanly at the start, something that Kyle Larson, a Hendrick Motorsports driver, considers correct. Gibbs raced too hard against a title contender who is also his teammate too early in last week’s race.

I think in the end, if you’re competing for a win, you’re competing for a win. You’re never going to give up a win in the Cup Series for a teammate. But I think if you’re running in the middle of the pack in a stage, yes, that expectation should be followed.

Kyle Larson

Larson explained that the expectations of how Hendrick’s drivers should compete are clearly defined and are evident on the track every week.