NASCAR Review: Barring Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Massive Disappointment at All-Star Race

The 40th edition of the NASCAR All-Star race wasn’t one to remember for Joe Gibbs Racing. While the team’s face Denny Hamlin finished runner-up to Team Penske’s Joey Logano, the other three drivers were nowhere to be found inside the top 10. Even Hamlin wasn’t able to pose a concrete threat to Logano who set a record by leading 199 of the event’s 200 laps.

Despite the disappointing end results, there were a few moments of promise from the Joe Gibbs Racing roster. Christopher Bell’s Toyota slid into race leader Logano trying to grab the lead on Lap 113. But he soon faded away into the midfield and ended up in 17th place. Martin Truex Jr. started from the 8th spot and finished 12th, a spot above teammate Ty Gibbs.

Gibbs had good speed throughout the weekend. However, his hopes of a parallel result were foiled when Kyle Busch nudged him into a spin on Lap 117. It was a frustrating evening for the youngster who has been playing fair throughout the year despite aggression being the character he was known for in 2023 and earlier.

Hamlin was okay with his result and noted that the only way for him to get past Logano would’ve been to wreck him. Choosing not to do that, he settled for second place. Much more excited about how good the new tires from Goodyear were, he said, “It’s incredible how well the tires hold up. It’s live and learn. Certainly, coming in second, I don’t think it pays anything, but at least we had some fun today.”

Ty Gibbs injects positivity into Joe Gibbs Racing despite end result

The weekend began on a positive note for the team with Bell’s #20 crew winning the Pit Crew Challenge. Ty Gibbs then kickstarted the All-Star Open and killed it by leading every one of the 100 laps in the event. He qualified for the main race alongside 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace. He’d headed to the big game riding high on momentum and optimism.

Asked about it, he told the press, “Hopefully, we can go and win it. I think (Michael) Waltrip did it once. Let’s go win a million bucks – maybe we can go buy some sprint cars or something.” Unfortunately for him, the plan to buy a few sprint cars will have to wait for some time. Gibbs and the team will have to wait for another week to put themselves back on the winning track.