On the surface, Ty Gibbs’ 2025 Cup Series campaign has been a story of steady progress. He began with a decent 11th-place finish at Daytona and then bettered it with performances at Darlington (9th) and Bristol (3rd) as the season progressed. But the real transformation began after a tense moment on the radio at Michigan. Gibbs, frustrated after finishing third, unleashed a fiery rant over the team channel. It was a flash of emotion that has sometimes defined his young career. But this time, a new voice cut through the static: Denny Hamlin’s former crew chief.

Chris Gabehart, now Joe Gibbs Racing’s competition director, stepped in to calm Gibbs down and refocus the team. Since that moment, Gibbs has delivered some of his best performances of the season, quietly emerging as a more composed and consistent contender.

How Denny Hamlin’s former crew chief’s guidance is steadying Ty Gibbs

” F—— gave that away,” Ty Gibbs said after his third-place finish at Michigan last month. Unhappy with the way things panned out in the closing moments, Gibbs didn’t hold back on his radio. After Ty Gibbs’ agitated reaction at Michigan, many expected the usual post-race flare-up and cool-down cycle. But instead of more heat, there was Gabehart.

“Hey, we didn’t give them nothing today. We had a great day. Did what we needed to do. We got a top five. Our other car won. It’s about big picture. Alright. Take this and build,” those were the words of Gabehart. It showed just how cool and composed the man is. Instead of letting Gibbs spiral in frustration, something fans and teams have seen before, Gabehart immediately reframed the moment, shifting the focus from raw emotion to long-term growth.

The longtime Cup Series crew chief, who guided Denny Hamlin to three Daytona 500 victories and nearly a championship, had recently moved into a performance advisor role within Joe Gibbs Racing. It was a low-key transition, but one that’s suddenly proving crucial. After Michigan, Ty Gibbs has quietly become one of the steadiest drivers in the field.

Ty Gibbs was 32nd at Atlanta, 34th at COTA, 25th at Phoenix, and 28th at Kansas, among other similar results. See the difference now? His average finish over the last five races is 8.8. Well, this is elite company for any driver, especially if you compare it to his performances pre-Michigan.

The on-track maturity? That’s no accident. Gabehart’s influence has created a communication buffer between a fiery young driver and the emotionally intense Cup Series grind. And with playoff contention well within reach, thanks to Chicago, Gibbs might finally be finding his Cup identity, one that balances fire with focus.

Ty Gibbs rockets up the standings after Chicago runner-up

Ty Gibbs’ impressive run at the 2025 Chicago Street Course didn’t just match his career-best Cup finish. Instead, it transformed his season’s trajectory. Entering the Grant Park 165, Gibbs was one of only three drivers to have scored top-10s in each Chicago Cup race, and he extended that streak with a determined second-place finish behind Shane van Gisbergen.

This result, his third top-five of the year, catapulted him five spots up the standings. Gibbs moved from 24th to 19th and reigniting his playoff hopes with seven races left in the regular season. He started ninth and ran near the front all day, thanks to a bold strategy from his Joe Gibbs Racing team that prioritized track position over stage points.

“My team called a great strategy and got me the track position we needed to get in front and compete for the win,” Gibbs said after the race. The plan paid off, as he lined up alongside van Gisbergen on the final restart with nine laps to go. Unfortunately, restarting on the outside lane left him vulnerable.

“Right in that last corner, the dude on the outside gets shafted every single time. If you watch every one of them, the inside guy wins almost every time and he just got a good enough gap and had a good restart,” Gibbs explained. Despite a late challenge from Tyler Reddick and a final-lap caution that froze the field, Gibbs held firm for second.

“I had a little bit of rear tire degradation and it didn’t really help me in my launch off the corner, so he just got a good gap and got away from me,” he reflected. Still, the runner-up result was a major boost, proving Gibbs’ growth on road courses and giving him renewed momentum in the playoff chase.