At the 2025 Enjoy Illinois 300 at the World Wide Technology Raceway, Christopher Bell emerged as the quickest Joe Gibbs Racing Camry during the early stages, finishing P7 in Stage 1, P5 in Stage 2, and ultimately bringing home the No. 20 into a respectable P7 overall, just ahead of Bubba Wallace and Chris Buescher. He launched from the 8th starting position, maintained pace among the leaders, and consistently posted competitive times despite not leading a lap. But even with that speed, Bell’s simmering frustration boiled over into raw comments that punctuated the race’s emotional undercurrent.

As the checkered flag waved, Bell’s crew chief radioed relief, saying, “Good job, guys. That’s what we needed today.” Bell, however, did not hold back, responding, “We just f—g ran 7th with the best car on the track! Every f—g week it’s the same s–t! We’re the last car to pit road! I’m over it!” He later told NBC Sports, “I just think we are underperforming. Clearly, the JGR Camrys are amazing. Our team cars are really good, and I felt like I had what I needed to race with them, and we finished seventh and they finished one-two. I honestly think the cars are as fast as I’ve had in my Cup career, and we are just not getting results out of it. That is a bummer.” That moment marked a turning point in how JGR’s internal dynamics and Bell’s playoff narrative would unfold, with the industry’s most respectable voices, Denny Hamlin, accusing him of “losing his mind.”

Denny Hamlin reveals cracks beneath JGR’s strong playoff start

In his Actions Detrimental podcast, along with co-host Jared Allen, Denny Hamlin acknowledged Bell’s outburst, saying, “That was that was uncharacteristic. He made some big comments after the race. The team said that, ‘hey, this is the kind of day we needed to rest easy at Bristol.’ And he was just pissed.” The usually controlled Joe Gibbs Racing environment had become charged with emotion behind the scenes. This was no ordinary rant, but a culmination of mounting pressure as Bell watched his teammates finish 1-2, with Hamlin sealing Toyota’s 200th Cup Series victory and Briscoe claiming runner-up, while also securing their seats in the Round of 12.

Explaining the dynamic between teammates, Hamlin attributed Bell’s reaction to internal comparison. “I believe that every driver measures themselves off of their teammates, and I think he’s growing frustrated that he’s not getting the results that he thinks he should be getting at this time,” he said. When professionals work side by side at the highest level, it’s natural to envy success. That day at Gateway, seeing Hamlin and Briscoe dominate only amplified Bell’s discomfort. For the latter, who had three wins early in the season but none since, this was yet another reminder of the ticking clock in his chase for success. With (+32) points over the cutline for the Round of 12, Bell doesn’t have much wiggle room at Bristol Motor Speedway, increasing the stakes for his playoff aspirations.

On the subject of strategy, Hamlin highlighted a key moment. “So I think that he vented about them staying out longer than everyone else, that pit stop that they had. That’s when the 9 and the 20, they stayed out late. They had a little fresher tire, and they were catching us before that caution came,” he reflected. “But I think he just was looking for the nearest dog to kick, and we finished 7th place with one of the fastest cars. And so that’s frustration boiling over, and I’m sure he’s over it today.” Indeed, Bell had one of the fastest cars in the field, consistently running top-five lap times across all three stages and charging through traffic multiple times. But the pit sequence last in the race threw his momentum off.

Reflecting on Bell’s strengths, Hamlin said, “He was kind of the gold standard for JGR at this racetrack, and New Hampshire, probably, he will be again. So he’s the guy that I listen to absolutely the most when we come to these tracks and try to get better with.” Nicknamed “The Magic Mile,” New Hampshire plays directly to Bell’s strengths from his dirt background and short, flat-track craft. He won the 2022 Ambetter 301, leading 42 laps. In 2024, he once again ran up front for most of the race, leading 149 laps, and recording the highest average running position of all JGR cars.

Hamlin’s advice is a reminder that even amidst frustration, unity and collaboration remain the backbone of Joe Gibbs Racing’s approach.

Denny Hamlin raises red flags over Bristol tire mystery

Hamlin’s Gateway win cemented his place as a playoff threat, but the veteran’s focus has already shifted to Bristol, where chaos always feels inevitable. This time, though, he says the unpredictability could be even greater. “I don’t know what we’re going to get,” Hamlin admitted, as Goodyear’s introduction of a softer right-side tire raised more questions than answers.

The alarm bells got louder when Hamlin shared an eyebrow-raising anecdote. “Apparently, they put on the Bristol right side tire and it shredded into the machine immediately,” he revealed. The story, from Goodyear’s mechanical sandbelt simulation, has sparked debate across the garage: was it a fluke, or a warning sign of disaster when 36 cars take the green flag under Bristol’s lights?

Hamlin didn’t hold back on his concerns about the lack of preparation. “I love that there’s no tire test or anything happened. We need to change something to fix this, you know, the passing at this track and we’re going to do something about it.” With no test to guide setups, teams are bracing for the unknown, and Hamlin’s words have turned tire management into the storyline to watch as NASCAR heads into one of its most unpredictable races of the year.