The sun was baking the asphalt at New Hampshire Motor Speedway when tension crept into the Joe Gibbs Racing garage late in Stage 2. Denny Hamlin, pushing hard for stage points, radioed in frustration: “Does Ty know we’re going for a championship? What the f–k?” followed by “Are they afraid to talk to him? That’s what I feel like. They’re scared of him.” The radio crackled louder when contact erupted in Turns 1 and 2 on Lap 110. After several laps of being blocked by Gibbs while also racing Christopher Bell, Hamin attempted a pass, and the No. 54 spun into the wall, ending Gibbs’ day. It set up a moment that Hamlin later described as “crazy unfortunate.”

In the aftermath, JGR’s competition director, Chris Gabehart, stepped into the eye of the storm, trying to steady both cars and conversations. Gabehart told the media, “[Denny] was probably looking for more of a break than he got … that’s what I would guess. That’s what I saw.” He noted that these chats are tough but necessary as “everybody needs more space than they have … reasonable etiquette to follow,” while admitting that one can’t expect drivers to “roll over and play nice.” But NASCAR veterans like Kevin Harvick are not convinced, as he fears a ‘championship collapse’ for Hamlin.

Denny Hamlin’s feud with Ty Gibbs puts JGR unity to the test

In a recent episode of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast, Harvick broke down Denny Hamlin’s controversial play at New Hampshire, stating that the real consequence may not just be the incident itself, but the ripple effect it creates inside JGR. “Here’s the question that I have. Is that the moment that derails Denny Hamlin’s 2025 championship? That decision now is a decision that you have to talk about next week. It’s a decision that will divide the shop. It’s a decision that shows a lot of people that you just, you don’t really have a lot of respect for the other people around you,” he said.

Hamlin entered the New Hampshire weekend as one of the strongest Toyota/JGR drivers in the points, after winning the World Wide Technology Raceway Round of 16 race at Gateway. At NHMS, Hamlin finished 12th. With 2 races left in the round, he had 3,062 points, placing him 5th among advancing drivers, only +27 above the cutline. Meanwhile, Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, Tyler Reddick, and Bubba Wallace were below the cutline. This reduces his margin for error.

Harvick continued, “When I look at this scenario, obviously the 11, as you can see him go up from the hash mark right there straight into the back of the 54, that was intentional, right? There’s no hiding that that wasn’t intentional.” The on-track contact between Hamlin and Gibbs turned an otherwise tidy Round of 12 race into internal Joe Gibbs Racing damage control.

Harvick also pointed out that this wasn’t the first time Hamlin and Gibbs tangled during the race, emphasizing how quickly things could have escalated. “They raced hard like this, they raced hard like this with the roles reversed earlier in the race with the 54 trying to, trying to pass the 11. You could have wiped out all three of them right there,” he said. There is a clear precedent within the race of Hamlin, Gibbs, and others trading hard racing, which Harvick refers to. Hamlin and Christopher Bell had tried to pass Gibbs earlier in Stage 2.

Despite Hamlin’s evolution into one of NASCAR’s elder statesmen, Harvick underlines how shocking it was to see him make such a move in the heat of the playoffs. “I think that when he made that decision, it could be the moment that derails Denny Hamlin’s championship chase for 2025. As mature as Denny Hamlin has become and as much of a leader as he has become, I’m really surprised that he chose that action in that moment during the playoffs for a championship,” he said.

After the incident, Hamlin himself admitted that perhaps the contact was a “mistake” and pointed to the difficulty of racing teammates who aren’t in the playoffs. Harvick also stressed that the fallout extends far beyond Hamlin alone, dragging the entire JGR operation into a tense internal reckoning. “Now it’s the owner, the competition director, you, 54, you’re going to put the 20 in the middle of it, the 19 in the middle of it. And now it’s the whole company. Now it’s the shop chatter… Gabehart stood there for a long time and talked very graciously to the media. Joe Gibbs spoke to the media, the drivers did exactly what they had to do from not saying more than they needed to say.”

JGR owner Joe Gibbs said he believed it would be best if the drivers handled the fallout between themselves, and Hamlin said that the leadership should clarify expectations of on-track etiquette for drivers. “When you get in those moments, you better be really careful how you choose your words, because it could absolutely blow the organization up… There is not a good solution as to how it, how it should go because the damage is already done,” Harvick continued.

In the end, meeting room conversations, possible internal discipline, and how leaders publicly frame it, will shape whether this is merely a headline to a championship-ending pivot. But the challenge also comes from external forces.

Denny Hamlin sounds alarm on Team Penske’s playoff pace

The NASCAR playoffs opened strong for Joe Gibbs Racing, with Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, and Christopher Bell all notching wins. But the Round of 12 brought a shift as Ryan Blaney and Team Penske seized control at New Hampshire, leaving Hamlin anxious about his maiden title hopes. Even JGR’s Chris Gabehart admitted the aero package and tires make Penske “untouchable.”

Hamlin himself echoed the concern on his Actions Detrimental podcast. “Probably should be,” he said when asked if Penske’s speed was a red flag for his rivals. “I think this is our Phoenix tire and I do know that this is the Phoenix aero package. Could be deja vu.” He also noted that the setup differed from the Gateway he won with, adding he wasn’t sure how the team picks for each race.

Looking ahead, Hamlin sees little room for error. “If we re-racked and ran tomorrow, we would have the same result. It will take an extensive overhauling of philosophy to get another 2% of grip out of our car,” he admitted. His best chance may lie at Kansas, where he won in 2023, as the Roval is widely expected to favor road course ace Shane van Gisbergen. “If you’re not a Penske fan, that’s probably what you should hope,” Hamlin concluded.