Joe Gibbs Racing, which dominated the opening round of the Playoffs, stumbled out of the blocks in firs race of Round 2 at New Hampshire. The trouble began when two teammates, one still in the championship hunt and the other already packing his bags, collided.
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Running 11th on Lap 110, Ty Gibbs battled Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell until Hamlin slipped underneath, clipped his left rear, and sent Gibbs into the Turn 1 wall, bringing out a caution.
Hamlin vented his frustration, and Gibbs fired back with a sharp “Game on” before hobbling to the garage with a broken toe link that ended his day. The dust-up highlighted the divide between drivers chasing a title and teammates with little to lose, raising questions about whether Hamlin and Gibbs can stay on the same page.
Team owner Joe Gibbs initially brushed off the drama, saying the drivers should settle it themselves, though many insiders believed he has a thorny issue on his hands. On NASCAR’s Inside the Race, Adam Alexander told Steve Letarte and Alex Weaver that Gibbs could face a firestorm in the garage if forced to choose between his grandson and the team’s franchise driver.
“We’re less than two months removed from Denny signing this contract extension, which is going to keep him at Joe Gibbs Racing for the entirety of his career.”
“And… this conversation goes a long way because of who’s involved and not just Ty Gibbs, the grandson, but Denny Hamlin, the driver, that has meant so much to the history of Joe Gibbs Racing.”
Alexander stressed that Hamlin is not one to pound the table for special treatment or lean on his résumé, so when his frustration spills over, it carries weight. Gibbs, he said, pays close attention not just because of Hamlin’s record but also because of the professional way he has always carried himself.
Alexander concluded, “I have great confidence in Joe Gibbs because (he) is a leader for him to handle it… (But) I don’t admire the situation the place that that coach Gibbs is in here. This will be a tough one, I’m sure. But he’s had a lot of tough conversations, when, as it results, or relates to his teams and competition, and I’m sure he’ll take care of business.”
Meanwhile, on his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin, who is looking forward to the JGR leaders stepping in, emphasized that while everyone should race to win, the clash unfolded over 11th place, where he was trying to scrape up stage points critical to advancing. He said plainly, “My teammate out of the playoffs should not be the hardest car on the track to pass.”
Whether Gibbs can broker an invisible truce between the two drivers remains to be seen, but the incident has already lit a fire under the team as the postseason rolls on.
