During the NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday, a collision involving Ty Gibbs and Denny Hamlin on Lap 111 stirred controversy and frustration within Joe Gibbs Racing. The Ty Gibbs NASCAR collision occurred amid intense competition for 11th place, with Gibbs, Hamlin, and Christopher Bell aggressively battling, despite Gibbs not being eligible for the championship. The clash resulted in Gibbs suffering a broken toe link and being forced out of the race, escalating tensions within the team.
Hamlin Expresses Frustration Over Aggressive Intra-Team Racing
Denny Hamlin, a seasoned Joe Gibbs Racing driver, voiced his displeasure with Gibbs’ intense racing tactics against team members competing for playoff points. After finishing 12th, Hamlin recalled,
“That was like the fourth or fifth time we made contact, but eventually he got spun.”
While Hamlin acknowledged making a mistake that contributed to the final incident, he insisted it was not a deliberate act of retaliation, explaining,
“Well, I made a mistake in (Turn) 1 but I would have made a mistake with anybody in that position. I was trying to get by him and that was a task in itself.”
Hamlin highlighted the broader issue of race etiquette within the team, especially since all involved were outside the top 10 and vying for important championship points rather than race wins.
“I’ll let leadership kind of quarterback however the would like to but obviously, the 11, 20 and 19, we’re all trying to win a championship for their family. It’s unfortunate why we’re racing the way we were,”
Hamlin stated.
Joe Gibbs Racing Leadership Plans to Address Internal Conflict
Chris Gabehart, Joe Gibbs Racing’s competition director and former crew chief for Hamlin, described the incident as a racing mishap but emphasized the need for clear communication and guidelines moving forward. Gabehart remarked,
“I mean, this is the type of conversation that, when you run well, you’re fortunate enough to need to have every so often. We’ll have to have that conversation again. I think there is a reasonable etiquette to follow where everyone can get what they need out of it.”
He acknowledged the challenge of balancing competitiveness and cooperation within a team of highly driven individuals.
“But at the same time, you can’t create an atmosphere where everyone just has to roll over and play nice all the time or you won’t hang as many (race win) banners as Joe Gibbs Racing has hung over the years,”
Gabehart added, noting that this kind of discussion involves not just drivers, but also crew chiefs, engineers, and pit crews.
“It’s a hard thing to balance and we just have to do a little better job of getting that balanced here.”
The incident almost caused further damage when Christopher Bell narrowly avoided Gibbs as his car spun into the wall. Gabehart stressed the need for better understanding during crucial race moments:
“Yeah, we just have to have a better understanding of proper racing etiquette in certain situations. And the playoffs are a certain situation. We’ll just have to talk through it and get everyone’s point of view and figure out how to move forward as one after this.”
Gabehart also recognized underlying tensions that may have contributed to the collision. “Yeah, I mean, sure,” he responded when asked about simmering strain.
“But again, like I said, you know every team member on Joe Gibbs Racing wants to win. We have a ‘want to win 38 races a year’ mentality and that makes everyone really competitive and selfish at times. So you have to balance that and understand and respect it out of all of your competitors and that includes those within your walls.”
Hamlin Reflects on Relationship with Gibbs and Racing Incident
Hamlin has historically acted as a mentor to Ty Gibbs, adding emotional weight to the crash. He acknowledged their close communication but also underscored Gibbs’ learning curve.
“I have probably had more dialogue with him than any other teammate I have. But yeah, he’s got so much to learn, and certainly, a very high ceiling of talent but understanding down in the distance seems to be the struggle,”
Hamlin said.
Firmly rejecting claims of intentional damage, Hamlin insisted,
“I certainly did not want to spin out a teammate. I was trying to get space to race, trying to get by the 54, and just got into it.”
Chris Gabehart agreed that the clash was a misjudgment rather than deliberate.
“My guess is getting into (Turn) 1, Denny thought he was going to have more space than he had, so he made an entry with that expectation. Then, when he had less space than he had, you can’t just stop these big things on a dime, when you’re loaded up like that … and when you guess wrong, an error can be made.”
Concerns About Retaliation and Team Dynamics Post-Collision
Despite the heat of the moment, Hamlin dismissed worries of any retaliation from Gibbs following the incident, stating,
“No, I’m not worried about it.”
Gibbs, who was treated at the infield care center and released, remained focused on upcoming races, expressing eagerness for future competition when asked by the media. The internal conflict and collision have underscored strains within the Joe Gibbs Racing team, prompting leadership to consider new measures to manage competition among teammates to prevent similar incidents during pivotal playoff rounds.
