The temperature at an already hot Watkins Glen International Raceway soared higher on the radio of the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing team on Sunday. With 34 laps remaining, Ty Gibbs struggled to find grip in his Toyota Camry XSE. He expressed his frustration to his team in a tone that Chris Gabehart, JGR’s Director of Competition, did not appreciate.
Advertisement
Gibbs said, “We’re [expletive] right now, so we’ve got to do something different.” Gabehart responded, “Well, I’m sure you’ve got a real good understanding of that from inside the car. So, you can call the strategy if you want, or we can keep rolling. But I would do the best I could to go as fast as I can.” The reply from the 22-year-old was, “10-4!”
Gabehart is a veteran of the sport who commands the highest respect in every circle. He worked with Denny Hamlin as his crew chief for years before assuming this current role. He told the press in the aftermath of the incident that it was just a growing moment in the youngster’s career and expressed that such heated discussions are bound to happen during high-pressure races.
Gabehart said, “It’s our job up top to try to rein that in when needed, or give enough information to be pertinent, but not so much that it’s confusing all those things. Ty is different than Denny is different than Chase Briscoe is different than Bell. They’re all different, right? So you’ve got to figure out how to get the most of them out of those moments, and today, I don’t think we did.”
Fortunately, nothing deeper went down between them, and things are as normal as ever. He added that Gibbs later suggested bringing the car onto pit road on Lap 81 and then staying out until a caution came out. Gabehart obliged, and the No. 54 Camry was fitted with four fresh tires. But the strategy did not work out, as no further yellow flags were issued.
Meanwhile, Gibbs’ sentiment cannot be dismissed outright. He has been struggling to reach Victory Lane despite his best attempts to do so since earning a full-time Cup Series ride in 2023. The inability to reach that milestone could place immense pressure on any young driver. Hopefully, he will get some relief before the end of the season.
From Gabehart’s point of view, it is his job to bring balance in situations such as the one at The Glen. Drivers may often be less informed than the crew and have to rely on the assessments provided to them by the experts.
Chemistry between the driver and the crew is one of the most important factors for success in racing. Gibbs might want to understand this in the long run if he hasn’t already.
