Denny Hamlin’s race at the Chicago street course came to an abrupt end before he could even complete a lap after his engine failed. This unexpected breakdown forced his No. 11 car to be towed back to the team’s garage, where Hamlin expressed his mounting frustration to Joe Gibbs, the team owner, and Chris Gabehart, the director of competition and Hamlin’s former crew chief. The incident intensified Hamlin’s visible irritation during the event.
Hamlin Expresses Anguish Over Team Performance and Reliability
In a heated exchange captured by microphones, Hamlin vented his frustration about the state of the team‘s preparations and performance.
“I’m just saying like, something – I’m not saying this is us – but like the processes or something is just [expletive] everything up,”
Hamlin said.
“Can’t even keep our cars together. It’s [expletive] agitating.”
—Denny Hamlin, NASCAR Driver
Insights from New Crew Chief on Ongoing Challenges
Chris Gayle, Hamlin’s first-year crew chief, spoke about the situation on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, suggesting that the problem extends beyond their immediate team. He noted,
“I think it’s just a problem beyond JGR and beyond anything in our team right now that we just need to get sorted and just happens,”
adding,
“Unfortunately is not what you want to have happen, but there was more than likely a problem out of our control that TRD I’m sure will get addressed really quickly and is doing everything they can to sort that out and come to a full conclusion with what happened and how to prevent anything like that from happening to any of the rest of us.”
—Chris Gayle, Crew Chief
Challenges Impacting Team Development and Driver Morale
Gayle acknowledged that such issues disrupt the entire race preparation process and Hamlin’s ability to compete effectively. He said,
“You don’t need to have those kind of incidents at all,”
emphasizing the consequences of failing to complete even a single lap in practice.
“It doesn’t matter how much time you focus on car preps and what the strategy’s gonna be, what the setup’s gonna be, if you can’t make a lap in practice, you can’t be better, you don’t have anything to kind of build a notebook or know if you’ve made the right call before you start the race.”
Gayle further explained,
“So you can’t really develop in that case. And if you’re in Denny’s shoes, he’s had quite a few instances here over the last calendar year or so and so it was just frustration on his part.”
—Chris Gayle, Crew Chief
Denny Hamlin’s Recent History of Engine Troubles
This latest engine failure adds to a troubling pattern for Hamlin, who suffered a similar breakdown at Texas in May, resulting in his car catching fire. Additionally, his engine failed just three laps into the Sonoma race last year, sending a large cloud of white smoke from beneath his car. These recurring mechanical failures have compounded Hamlin’s frustrations throughout the Cup Series season.
What This Means for Hamlin and the Team Moving Forward
The repeated engine failures raise concerns about the reliability of Hamlin’s car as the Cup Series continues. With Tony Racing Development (TRD) expected to investigate and solve the root cause of these failures, the team and driver will be keenly focused on preventing similar issues in future races. Denny Hamlin’s growing frustration signals the pressure on the team to find solutions quickly, or risk further setbacks in the highly competitive series.
