During the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday, tensions flared between Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) teammates, prompting Denny Hamlin to call for intervention from team leadership. The incident happened as Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and Ty Gibbs contended fiercely for position, with Hamlin pushing for clarity on how JGR drivers should compete on track during the playoffs.
In the second stage of the Mobil 1 301 race, Hamlin and Bell targeted Ty Gibbs’ No. 54 Toyota, attempting to pass him amidst visibly faster cars. After Bell and Gibbs made contact during their battle, Hamlin tried to overtake Gibbs cleanly but was unsuccessful. On Lap 110, the intense duel culminated in Hamlin making contact with Gibbs in Turn 1, spinning Gibbs into the SAFER barrier and ending his day prematurely. Meanwhile, Hamlin, Bell, and Chase Briscoe continued on to secure finishes within the top 12.
Playoff Stakes Heighten Tensions Between Contending Teammates
The underlying tension stems from differing playoff situations: Hamlin, Bell, and Briscoe remain in championship contention, while Gibbs failed to qualify for the playoffs. This discrepancy fuels competitive friction, with Gibbs having little to gain by hindering his teammates’ progress. Hamlin shared his perspective during Monday’s recording of his Actions Detrimental podcast on Dirty Mo Media, emphasizing the need for clear guidance from JGR’s leadership on how drivers should conduct themselves during the postseason battles.
“What I want to happen is leadership (to) step in and tell us, what do you want us to do?”
Hamlin said.
“If you want us all to just race each other cut-throat, no matter what your position is in the stature of the standings, we can definitely do that. Like I expect myself and the 19 (Briscoe) and the 20 (Bell) to race really, really hard because we’re all battling each other to get above this cutline or maintain our status above the cutline. If I get eliminated or the 19 gets eliminated or the 20 gets eliminated, and then we’ve established this ‘no rules — you guys just do whatever you wanna do,’ none of us are going to win.”
Hamlin noted that JGR owner Joe Gibbs has previously addressed similar issues by setting expectations for how teammates are to race under differing postseason circumstances.
“He has had this conversation multiple times with everyone in the room, but I think it probably needs to be said again,”
Hamlin said.
“And so what I’ve heard is that if you’re a non-playoff car, any break that you can cut your teammates, please do.”
Family Ties Add Complexity to the Team Dynamics
Complicating matters further, Ty Gibbs is Joe Gibbs’ grandson, and his mother, Heather Gibbs, is also a co-owner of the team. These family connections contribute to the tension inside the garage, as emotions run high during such a critical phase of the season. Hamlin believes that leadership’s intervention is crucial for preserving JGR’s championship hopes over the coming weeks.
Following Sunday’s race, Joe Gibbs suggested the drivers should sort out their disagreements themselves. However, Hamlin expressed skepticism about resolving the issue solely through talks with Ty Gibbs, noting a fundamental disconnect in their outlooks.
“I don’t think we’re on the same page.”
“The challenge is that I think me and Ty are going to have different opinions,”
Hamlin explained.
“Therefore, you need leadership to step in and say, ‘Well, this is how we want it done.’ And then we will play by those rules. Whatever those rules are, I will play by those rules. But I have been told in the past, if you’re not in it, you do everything you can to help your teammates that are in.”
Hamlin Welcomes Tough Racing but Calls for Mutual Understanding
Hamlin reiterated that he supports aggressive, competitive driving among teammates who are battling for playoff survival. Yet he made it clear that racing intensely with teammates fighting for their postseason lives differs greatly from contending with a teammate with no championship ambitions.
“Me, the 20, the 19 — we’re all battling and scratching and clawing to try to get some stage points, which is going to be life or death for us,”
Hamlin said.
“It’s our air that we need to move on (in the playoffs). I felt as though (I was) a little bit wronged in the sense of my teammate out of the playoffs should not be the hardest car on the track to pass. I mean, for God’s sake, Ross Chastain let me by. If there’s anyone that probably — he’s on the cutline. But even in the first stage, I pressured him and pressured him, and more than likely, what he thought was ‘I’m not going to hold him up for this entire 60-lap run. I might as well just get back in line, try to keep it from someone else joining this party and passing me along with you.’”
“This is the race-craft that I feel like is missing—that understanding (of) the situation. And certainly I felt as though this thing is hard enough to win anyway. But if you’re gonna have to race your teammates harder than anyone on the race track, then this will be really, really tough for any one of us to win.”
Aero-Blocking Incident Sparks the Turn 1 Collision
Hamlin attributed the collision with Gibbs to aggressive aero-blocking tactics employed by his teammate, which disrupted Hamlin’s car’s airflow and stability. Hamlin insisted spinning Gibbs was unintentional but noted he was determined to reclaim the racing line.
“Well, it was twofold because I was pretty much there into Turn 1, and then he moved down to the middle lane to cut the nose off to make me get really (tight),”
Hamlin said.
“If you cut someone’s nose, especially if they’re running really close to you, it’ll make their car kind of lift up and take off. So I think he was just trying to cross my nose to make me lose air just to further aero-block me. And I was so close to him that I’m like, ‘Hell no. You’re not gonna do that.’ So yeah, I tried to shove him up to the next lane to get my position, and I unfortunately spun him out.”
Hamlin recorded his podcast before JGR’s afternoon competition meeting on Monday, with no further discussions yet between him and Ty Gibbs. He indicated that he still did not understand Gibbs’ approach.
“It’s just too difficult to win naturally, much less if we’re going have the ‘everyone just races for themselves and it doesn’t matter whether you’re racing for a championship or not,’”
Hamlin said.
“And from my standpoint, I would think that Ty would want one of us to win a championship. His name’s on the building.”
Implications for Joe Gibbs Racing’s Championship Pursuit
This internal conflict within JGR highlights the delicate balance necessary when teammates pursue drastically different goals during critical playoff moments. The absence of a firm, shared understanding on racing conduct threatens to fracture team unity and undermine their performance in the championship hunt. Denny Hamlin’s insistence on leadership involvement underscores the urgency for clear guidelines to prevent further incidents that could jeopardize Joe Gibbs Racing’s postseason success.
As JGR moves forward in the NASCAR playoffs, the team’s ability to manage rivalries internally and foster cooperation will play a pivotal role in their pursuit of a Cup Series title. Leadership’s response and the establishment of explicit expectations are likely to influence how the remaining six weeks of competition unfold for the organization.
Joe Gibbs talked with Denny Hamlin after the race. He says he will leave it up to the drivers to handle their issues. pic.twitter.com/y1Kz4SlIzv
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) September 21, 2025
