In the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, Joe Gibbs Racing has been the strongest team so far. Be it the regular season, where Christopher Bell kicked off their dominance with three back-to-back wins, or Denny Hamlin becoming the season’s winningest driver. Even Chase Briscoe, with his six pole starts so far, is the highest by any driver in the season. And Ty Gibbs was the only JGR driver to miss the playoffs.
Speaking of which, the JGR’s dominance continued into the playoffs, with Coach Gibbs’ boys sweeping the round of 16. Briscoe won the opening race at Darlington, Hamlin took the Gateway win, and Bell won the eliminator at Bristol. Thanks to this, all three progressed to the round of 12. And everyone expected a similar dominance there as well.
Denny Hamlin Breaks Silence on Ty Gibbs Sabotaging JGR’s Championship Hope
JGR has emerged as a serious championship contender this season; all three of its playoff drivers are in top form. Also, Coach Gibbs’ team needs the title desperately as they have been trailing behind Hendrick Motorsports and Team Penske for a few years now. If you recall, the last time JGR won a championship was in 2019 with Kyle Busch. After that, HMS won it twice, and Penske won it thrice. But 2025 could be the year of redemption for JGR.
All was well until the Cup Series landed at NHMS. At the start of the second stage, Gibbs raced his teammates Hamlin and Bell a little “too hard.” It wasn’t even a battle in the top 10. But Gibbs gave it his all to hold his position, blocking the path of Hamlin and Bell. Eventually, Hamlin bumped the #54’s rear, spinning him backwards into the wall.
There was a massive uproar over the incident, leaving the NASCAR community divided on the matter. Some felt Hamlin deliberately crashed Gibbs and that the #54 driver did nothing wrong, racing hard. Some sided with Hamlin, who was puzzled why Gibbs was going so hard at his own teammates, who are in the bid for a championship.
Explaining his side, Hamlin, on the recent episode of “Actions Detrimental,” said, “We were racing really hard, and what in my mind was entirely too hard. My teammate, out of the playoffs, should not be the hardest car on the track to pass. Even Ross Chastain let me by. Ty didn’t. Like it or not, this time of year, non-playoff cars are supposed to cut a break. That’s just how it works.”
Teammates shouldn’t be the toughest to pass… especially this time of year. @dennyhamlin breaks it ALL down on this week’s Actions Detrimental — out now!
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YouTube: https://t.co/sYO8auh6hw pic.twitter.com/wgc6hu7a7L— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) September 22, 2025
Hamlin wants JGR’s top leadership to handle this: Gibbs’ grandfather and the team owner. Hamlin is firm. If they were to win a championship, JGR would have to race as a team, and Gibbs’s giving them room is the bare minimum.
The NASCAR veteran is not wrong. JGR has three cars capable of making it to the championship four, but with petty internal problems, their chances could get sabotaged.
After NHMS, Bell is leading the JGR trio in points, being fourth, Hamlin is fifth, and Briscoe is eighth. This picture could have been very different had Gibbs unknowingly crashed either Bell or Hamlin in his attempt to race hard. And the points they would have lost thanks to that would have been detrimental to JGR’s championship hopes.
But it looks like Gibbs disagrees with this approach. After his car crashed into the wall, he responded on his radio with a two-word statement: “Game on.” If by this he means he is looking for payback in the next races, JGR is in big trouble!
