Hamlin and Gibbs: Tension at JGR after incident, Briscoe on pole in Kansas

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Following an incident on the track between teammates Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs, calm has returned to Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin, who is competing in the playoffs in search of his first Cup Series championship, and Gibbs, grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, were involved in a crash in New Hampshire. After the contact on the track, Hamlin questioned via the team radio if the organization was afraid to give orders to the 22-year-old young driver.

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

Denny Hamlin

Hamlin admitted he reacted impulsively. “There are things I should have done differently,” declared the three-time Daytona 500 champion. Christopher Bell, teammate at JGR, pointed out that the message was clear and did not require being verbalized about how Toyota drivers should compete with each other at this stage of the season. There are six races left to crown the Cup champion.

We shouldn’t crash into each other. 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

Meanwhile, Chase Briscoe, also from JGR, secured the pole position for Sunday’s race in Kansas, marking his seventh pole of the year. Briscoe and Hamlin will likely maintain a clean competition at the start, as suggested by Kyle Larson, a Hendrick Motorsports driver. Larson commented that Gibbs competed too intensely against a title contender, who is also his teammate, at an early point in last week’s race.

I think at 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 in the middle of the pack in a stage, yes, that expectation should be followed.

Kyle Larson

Larson added that the expectations on how Hendrick’s drivers should compete with each other are clearly defined and are evident on the track every week. “I think you’re always looking for what you can do to make things a little easier for your teammates,” he concluded.