Every team has its own method of motivating drivers to perform better and win races. Joe Gibbs Racing does too. There is a wall at the team’s race shop on which banners with the names of winning drivers are hung after every victory. The winner addresses the entire workforce when the banner is hoisted and pumps up the energy.
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Denny Hamlin spoke about this at Martinsville last weekend. He said, “From my standpoint, I run out of things to say. I try to get as creative as I can. Each one is a little bit different. You don’t get to see the carpet walkers all the time on the second floor who are not touching the racecar.”
“You have the competition side on the other side, and you have folks in the fabrication shop. You just don’t see those folks that often. It’s just an opportunity to see them face-to-face and thank them. Otherwise, the only other time we get to thank them is in victory lane or at the Christmas party at the end of the year.”
Race wins are always the collective effort of a group. The drivers at Joe Gibbs Racing understand this and try to deliver their appreciation for the people who tend to go unnoticed on such occasions.
Hamlin currently is the driver with the most number of banners on the wall (60). The two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch trails him with 56 wins.
Bell has been a driver for Joe Gibbs Racing since 2021. He has won 13 races in this period, meaning he has 13 banners with his name up on the wall. Speaking about the ritual a couple of years ago, he said, “There’s not really a prize so to speak of, but I remember when I started in 2021, there really weren’t very many No. 20 banners.”
“You know, Erik (Jones) won at Darlington and the Daytona race at some point, but you know lots of No. 11, a lot of No. 18, and Martin Truex had a lot of No. 19 banners up. So, my goal was to get some No. 20 banners hung up there, and there’s a lot of No. 20 banners up there now.”
He went on to admit that getting the banner on the wall was his favorite part about winning Cup Series races. Hamlin, Bell, and the others will race for one final win at the Phoenix Raceway this weekend. The Joe Gibbs Racing roster would love nothing more than to hoist one final banner for 2025 with their name on it.
