While Joe Gibbs pushed Kyle Busch aside three years ago to promote his grandson Ty Gibbs to the NASCAR Cup Series, the elder Gibbs made it very clear to Ty’s crew chiefs and strategists that they could control and discipline him as they saw fit.
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Such is the case with Joe Gibbs Racing competition director Chris Gabehart, who was elevated to his current position at the end of last season after being crew chief for Denny Hamlin from 2019 through 2024. Gabehart oversees all four of JGR’s Cup teams and if any crew chiefs or drivers have problems, they’re to come to him to defuse a situation.
It’s a lofty position that comes with heavy responsibility. In addition to his job as competition director, Gabehart took on an additional role this June as Ty Gibbs’ race strategist.
With 34 laps left in Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen, and Ty trailing much of the field miserably, he exploded over the team’s radio, yelling, “We’re f***ed right now. So we gotta do something different.”
Gibbs is paid to drive, while Gabehart is paid to strategize. And that’s when he put the younger Gibbs in his place: “Well, I’m sure you’ve got a real good understanding of that from inside the car. So, you know, you can call the strategy if you want, or we can keep rolling. But I’d do the best I could go to as fast as I can.”
Gibbs got the message, even though he likely didn’t appreciate Gabehart’s tone, responding with a terse “10-4” in turn.
Gabehart, who at 44 years old is twice Gibbs’ age, essentially treated his young charge as if he was his son, basically telling him to do the best he could and not try to out-think people like Gabehart or crew chief Tyler Allen, whose job is to strategize and make calls, not Gibbs.
Dale Jr. agrees with how Gabehart handled Ty Gibbs
On this week’s edition of the Dale Jr. Download, Dale Earnhardt Jr. lauded Gabehart for putting Ty in his place.
“Ty Gibbs needs a guy like Gabehart,” Junior said. “Gabehart is there to help this kid and mentor him. And that (disagreement on the radio) was just something that was a moment.”
Earnhardt then compared Ty Gibbs’ frustration to Junior’s own moments of frustration in his career.
“I’ve been in those moments on the radio where I’m the driver, I’m upset. I’m out there driving the car, the car isn’t doing what I want, I’m in trouble. I know I’m in trouble,” Junior said. “And I don’t feel like anyone else realizes just how bad this s**t is. I’ve been in that.
“And you need a person on the radio that tells you, ‘We’re all here to help you, man. We’re not here to argue.’ And I don’t know anyone better-suited for that person to sort of get Ty back into the game than Gabehart. So I thought it was refreshing (that Gabehart essentially put Ty Gibbs in his place).
“Listen, I used to race for my dad and I had leniency. There were things that I could say (or) do, get away with, and if I was really allowed, I could have taken that to an extreme that would have been detrimental to not only myself but the rest of the company. I was lucky that I had Tony (Eury) Sr. and Tony (Eury) Jr. to keep my ass in line and not let me get away with running my mouth and being a little (expletive).
“It’s not that Ty Gibbs was really going there, he was just desperate. He’s like, ‘Man, I’ve got no rear tires. We’re in trouble.’”
For the record, Ty Gibbs finished 21st at both Indianapolis and Iowa and then his second-worst outing of the season so far, 33rd, at The Glen.
How Junior would have responded if he was Gabehart
Earnhardt then paraphrased what Gabehart’s reaction to Gibbs was: “(I) need you to keep going as fast as you can go and do what I need you to do. Now, if you want to throw the whole race and do your own strategy, by all means, you can come on down pit road and we’ll do whatever. But my suggestion would be this.”
That’s much the way Junior’s uncle and cousin, Tony Eury Sr. and Tony Eury Jr., handled the younger Earnhardt in the early stages of his Cup career, when he felt he could get away with anything because Dale Sr. was his father.
Junior continued, “Tony Sr. was that guy for me to basically say, ‘You know, shut the ‘f’ up, buckle down, quit doing what the f**k you’re doing. It’s detrimental. It’s not helping.’ I’m thankful for that because had he not been the guardrail, man, I would have abused all of the lenience and being the son of the team owner. Even after Dad had passed away, I still had this sort of ability or leeway that no one else at the company possessed and benefited from…
“Gabehart’s not that aggressive, but damn, man. Ty Gibbs is extremely talented. He’s got a chance to really get it going and do it in this Cup deal. And if it happens, it’ll happen because of Gabehart. Sort of not so much making the cars fast, but getting his head right.”
