Much like every other season, Joe Gibbs Racing entered last year as a championship contender. The team came out of the gates strong, but their momentum fizzled out down the stretch.
Advertisement
After Christopher Bell’s victory at New Hampshire, no JGR driver reached Victory Lane in the second half of the season. All four fell short of the Championship 4. That collapse raised questions about leadership and whether Joe Gibbs himself steps in when his drivers hit a slump.
The downturn was apparent. Denny Hamlin started the season on a tear with three wins in his first 11 starts but failed to win again and finished eighth in the final standings. Ty Gibbs went winless despite posting eight top-fives. Christopher Bell secured three wins in the first half, but couldn’t close the deal in the playoffs. Martin Truex Jr. also went winless. By year’s end, the team rolled out major changes.
Chase Briscoe was brought in to take over the No. 19 from 2025, after Truex announced his retirement in August 2024. Hamlin’s longtime crew chief, Chris Gabehart, transitioned to competition director, and Chris Gayle, previously atop Ty Gibbs’ pit box, took over the #11 team. Tyler Allen stepped into Gayle’s former role with Gibbs and the No. 54.
Despite the sweeping changes, Gibbs stated that his direct influence on driver performance is limited. His focus, he said, lies in equipping the team with the best tools and attracting sponsor support.
Following Bell’s All-Star Race win last week, Gibbs was asked how much involvement he has in preventing performance drop-offs that often lead to structural changes. He made it clear: “I’m not the technical person over here.” His role, he explained, is to assemble the right personnel and manage the challenges that come with professional sports.
For Gibbs, the real grind begins off the track, especially the first of every month, trying to pay the bills. Hence, he said, “I’m chasing sponsors and stuff a lot, too. But it’s mostly the people issues where I spend most of my time. It’s making sure that our competitive side has everything that it takes, and we’ve got great people over there. You win with people in pro sports. It’s not a single person or anyone; it’s a total team effort.”
According to Gibbs, success boils down to personnel. “If you get the right people together, you’re going to have a chance to win because they’re going to make you look good,” he said. Moreover, he added that, “My role is you could probably say more of a minor role in this thing, is keeping everybody heading in the right direction and being able to get the resources for everybody.”
So far this season, the team appears to have turned a corner. Bell leads the charge with four wins — three points-paying races and one All-Star — and currently ranks third in the standings. Hamlin has bagged two wins and sits seventh. Briscoe has delivered consistent results, posting four top-fives and five top-10s to hold twelfth in the standings. Ty Gibbs, however, remains stuck at twenty-sixth, with just one top-five and two top-10 finishes this year.
