KANSAS CITY, Kan. – After the incident between teammates Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs in the last race, calm has returned to Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin, who is competing in the playoffs for his first Cup Series championship, and Gibbs, grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, had contact on the track. Hamlin, after the incident, questioned on the radio whether the organization was afraid to give team orders to the young driver. Hamlin stated on Saturday, a day before the race at Kansas Speedway, that everyone had the opportunity to express their opinions in the meeting of the week. The three-time Daytona 500 champion admitted that “I definitely got carried away, and I went too far.”
Christopher Bell, teammate at JGR, stated that the message about how Toyota drivers should race each other was clear and didn’t need to be said. Six races remain to crown the Cup champion.There are things I should have done differently.
Denny Hamlin
Meanwhile, Chase Briscoe, a JGR driver, secured his seventh pole position of the year to lead the grid in Kansas on Sunday. Briscoe and Hamlin will likely race cleanly at the start. Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports driver, believes this is the right thing to do. Gibbs was racing too hard with a title contender who is also his teammate.We shouldn’t crash into each other. That was very clear and obviously incorrect, 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
Larson explained that the expectations on how Hendrick’s drivers should race among themselves are clearly defined and are evident on the track every week.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
