In light of the recent shock departure of the #11 crew chief Chris Gabehardt, Denny Hamlin finds himself in a precarious situation as the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran gears up for the 2025 season. The longtime driver-crew chief pairing will part ways after Gabehart’s involvement with the team since 2019.
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Speaking on the sudden announcement despite the duo’s impressive run of late, the #11 Toyota Camry XSE driver made a rather interesting comparison. Comparing himself and Gabehart to former NFL quarterback Tom Brady and former New England Patriots general manager and Brady’s coach Bill Belichick, Hamlin spoke on his motivation going forward in the sport.
He also drew parallels to the NFL duo while guessing who might have been the reason for the split in arguably Joe Gibbs Racing’s best driver-crew chief pairings, saying, “I’m certainly motivated at this point. It’s just human nature, right? When Belichick and Brady split, it was like ‘Who was it?’ Was it him, was it you, right?”
The 54-time victor in the Cup Series did seemingly draw a parallel between his situation in stock car racing and the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick pairing in the NFL, insinuating himself in Brady’s shoes. Regarded as one of the greatest quarterback-coach pairings in the history of the sport, the duo’s split also raised similar concerns to that of Hamlin and Gabehart.
Hamlin also confidently spoke about what might have been the cause behind the sudden split and added, “You’re always going to have that motivation of like I’m sure that was you,” as he backed his own performances in the sport.
“I got all kinds of explanations”
In light of Hamlin comparing his situation to that of Brady and Belichick during the NFL duo’s split, the Virginia native was further quizzed on how there is one stark difference between Tom Brady and Bill Belichick and himself and Chris Gabehart.
A reporter reminded Hamlin of his lack of championship trophies in NASCAR while the NFL duo sport six Super Bowl titles, often being regarded as the best quarterback-coach pairing in history. His reply to the same came in lighthearted humor.
“I got all kinds of explanations,” said the 44-year-old, following up with how it would be “nice” to finally clinch the title that has long eluded him during his illustrious career. “It would be nice for sure.”
It remains to be seen whether Hamlin and the #11 crew’s performances take a noticeable leap next year in 2025. The only defining factor for a team such as the #11 would be a championship trophy at this point.
