“I was worried,” admitted Denny Hamlin when discussing the forced pairing with his new crew chief, Chris Gayle, last offseason. But Gayle’s reputation was built during his time in the Xfinity Series, where he collected a staggering 37 wins with multiple drivers, notably guiding Ty Gibbs to the 2022 series championship. His Joe Gibbs Racing stint began in 2002, but his Cup resume was seen as modest until his recent breakout.

The ultimate validation of his talent came when he was given an ultimatum: take the No. 11 role or pursue an offer from another Cup team, leading Hamlin to ultimately tell Joe Gibbs, “Do whatever you think is best.” And now, with the anticipation building for the season finale at Phoenix, especially around Denny Hamlin’s pursuit of his first title, it could easily become an overwhelming psychological weight on his new crew chief, who declared that championship pressure “does nothing good for us.”

How Denny Hamlin’s team normalizes NASCAR’s biggest weekend

Gayle maintains a refreshingly grounded perspective on the situation. Reflecting on the narrative that constantly dogs the veteran driver, Gayle insisted, “You know, to be honest with you, I don’t make a big deal of it and he hasn’t either.” His refusal to be consumed by the high-stakes history of the No. 11 team is a conscious decision to shield the group from unnecessary emotional fatigue.

The lack of open discussion about the Cup Series championship pressure in the No. 11 war room is not an act of avoidance, but rather a deliberate strategy to maintain focus and poise. Gayle explained that the pressure of the moment is so implicit that it has become an unstated agreement, saying, “There has not been one time that we’ve spoken about the pressure of that or not making the Championship 4. It goes unsaid. We all want to win the Championship.”

For Gayle, a veteran who earned the 2022 Xfinity Series Championship before moving to the Cup side with Hamlin, the core task is obvious, and remains unchanged from any other race weekend, regardless of the historical context of Hamlin’s four prior Championship 4 appearances that all ended without a title.

Gayle understands the team’s legacy and the urgency of their mission, a feeling that was emphasized when the team met during the off-season. “I know the history there. When we sat down in the offseason and I took over this role, we talked about making the Championship 4,” he noted.

The difficulty, as everyone knows, lies not just in making it to Phoenix, but in navigating the finale’s unpredictable nature. For instance, in the 2023 finale, Hamlin’s teammate Christopher Bell suffered a brake failure during Stage 2, leading to a missed opportunity at the title. Recognizing the inherent chaos of the final event, the crew chef maintains that his internal preparation process must remain consistent, irrespective of the title implications.

His objective is to normalize the moment for a driver who has been here multiple times. “You know, we know that a lot of things can happen even outside of your control in a one-race format,” he said. This approach is rooted in practicality; since being paired with Hamlin, Gayle has focused on bringing a fresh, new perspective and ideas to the No. 11 team’s setup, a change that has paid off with key strategic calls, like the critical 4-tire stop late at Las Vegas that secured their early Championship 4 berth.

Ultimately, the No.11 team’s strategy for Phoenix is one of pragmatic control and clinical execution, minimizing any self-inflicted mistakes. Gayle’s confidence stems from methodical preparation, not emotional hype.

“So I think the part we can control is try to bring the fastest race car, try to be on top of the strategy, try to have everything in place on the front side, and to not really add that extra pressure,” he summarized. This philosophy drives their meticulous focus on data, simulation, and pit-stop perfection, allowing Hamlin to concentrate purely on the wheel.

The goal is to strip the final race of its ceremonial weight, “We’re going to get to the racetrack and try to treat it like as much of a normal weekend from a process standpoint we can.” For a driver like Hamlin, who has openly relished the extra time this early Championship 4 qualification has afforded him for preparation and study, Gayle’s low-key, high-preparation mantra is the ideal foundation for finally conquering the big test that is the season finale.

Hamlin himself steers off these pressures as his focus is at a personal level now, with his father Dennis Hamlin’s poor health. “I know for a fact this is my last chance for my dad to see it. I don’t want him going and never getting to see the moment.” Hamlin is doing all for him now and wants him to see this one last piece in the puzzle for his son.

On the other hand, JGR owner Joe Gibbs has also opened up about Hamlin’s elusive Cup title.

Joe Gibbs reflects on the fire that still drives Denny Hamlin

Two decades ago, a young Denny Hamlin walked into Joe Gibbs Racing as an unproven talent, signing as a development driver with little fanfare. Fast forward to 2025, and that same 24-year-old rookie has become JGR’s cornerstone, a driver with 60 Cup wins, the most in the team’s history. Through every era, Hamlin has remained loyal, chasing one thing that continues to elude him: the championship trophy that defines NASCAR greatness.

As Joe Gibbs put it, “I think for everybody the only thing that Denny has not claimed is a championship, and so I know everybody asks him about that in every interview, and so if you do that for 20 years, I can tell you there’s a burning desire for him to win a championship.”

That desire, Gibbs suggests, is what keeps Hamlin pushing, even after so many heartbreaks, including his closest near-miss in 2010.

Reflecting on Hamlin’s evolution, Gibbs added, “All the things that he does now, he’s an owner of a race team. Okay. He races for us and all he’s done over those years, his family, where he is today, when he first came with us, all that’s just a huge story.”

For Hamlin, the upcoming weekend at Phoenix represents more than another title shot; it’s the chance to finally complete a story that began with quiet ambition and has been written in perseverance ever since.