Chris Gabehart Downplays the ‘Gamble’ Behind Breaking Successful Partnership With Denny Hamlin

Denny Hamlin and the rest of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team were forced to head into the 2025 Cup Series season without Chris Gabehart. The longtime crew chief was promoted to the organization’s director of competition and replaced by Chris Gayle.

From the common perspective, this was a big gamble to take with one of the most iconic drivers in the sport. But Gabehart doesn’t see it that way. He spoke to the Motor Racing Network recently and explained why.

He said, “I didn’t view it as much of a gamble at all. And it was because of a few key decisions and good conversations to get by him. But the reality is nothing at all on that #11 team changed except for the crew chief.

“And my message to Gayle was to ‘use that to your strength.’ The #11 team works really, really well. Its way of doing things works well. So go in, look around, and evolve to the way of doing things while taking notes.

“And then you tell the team and the driver to do the same thing. Nothing about the team’s changing. The process works really, really well.”

Gabehart continued to express how he was very proud of how Gayle has adapted to the team and made it better over time. Teams undergo turbulence every time a change as big as a crew chief switch happens.

But thanks to the solid foundations at JGR, Hamlin has been able to have a spectacular regular season. He sits third on the postseason standings with 23 playoff points in his pocket.

How Gabehart interacts with the No. 11 team now

Gabehart spent a total of six seasons as the crew chief of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing outfit. The friendships he made and the knowledge that he gained during this time have led to him having it easy in his current job today.

He detailed, “You can’t help but be closer to them and have different relationships with them because you spent so many years with them in the trenches. And that team, I just have the pulse of it the best. I know how they work.”

From the paperwork to the mindset of Hamlin, Gabehart has it all at his fingertips. He noted that all he needs is to provide simple instructions and the entire team understands what it is that he expects from them. Other directors of competition in the sport would kill for such chemistry in their camps.