There was a time in NASCAR when teams like Petty Enterprises and Richard Childress Racing dominated race wins and championships. But with the new century came new players, Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing. Rick Hendrick’s Jeff Gordon had already started to cement their domination in the late 90s with championship triumphs, but Coach Gibbs’ JGR started catching up. Their first major triumph came in 1993 when Dale Jarrett won the Daytona 500in JGR’s #18 car, signaling the team’s arrival and sparking a fierce competitive spirit, especially with Rick Hendrick’s team.

Despite heated rivalry on track, both teams maintained mutual respect and help as Gibbs drew technical and managerial expertise from Hendrick, who even sent his general manager to assist Gibbs early on. Yeah, back in the day, JHR used Pontiacs and Monte Carlos under General Motors’ umbrella. “So Rick played a key role in getting us started. We also bought some stuff from him. We also had a motor package with him for quite a while. So Rick was instrumental…To come into the sport, it really does help to have an alliance,” said Gibbs.

However, with Toyota’s entry in 2007 flipped the script and now JGR was a direct rival to HMS. By this time, the likes of Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth had added three championship trophies to the team, and in the next decade, Kyle Busch added two Cup Series crowns to the organization’s trophy cabinet. With Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon riding off into the sunset with their retirement, JGR established its strong presence from 2011 to 2019 until Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson started to turn the tide.

But in today’s Next Gen era, the rivalry is measured in numbers. Each team has participated in 125 races and 500 entries. HMS edges out JGR in wins (36 to 27) with fewer drivers (4 vs 5), and leads in stage wins (69 vs 67), top 5s (147 vs 134), top 10s (243 vs 228), and top 20s (371 vs 342). Lap leadership also has been razor close with 7.33% (9,210 laps) for HMS  vs. 7.12% (8,933 laps) for JGR. Notably, HMS made four Championship 4 appearances compared to JGR’s two, which shows that the latter has faced some issues in recent years.

Fans on Reddit argue that JGR’s biggest weakness lies in their lesser consistency per car compared to HMS, and that spreading performance across more drivers dilutes their chances in key moments. HMS is delivering elite performances with top-performing drivers like Kyle Larson and William Byron. Meanwhile, JGR is still relying on their old guard in Denny Hamlin, with Christopher Bell seen as the next leader in line.

This comparison shows that while HMS has more talented drivers and creates big storylines, JGR isn’t far behind. Rather, they are matching strides or even eclipsing their rival, and given how the 2025 season is going, this debate caught more fire as fans started sharing their take on the statistical comparison. And HMS fans didn’t shy away from highlighting JGR’s weak effort in fielding championship-caliber drivers.

Split opinions as NASCAR fans compare two titans of the track

“Absolutely abysmal performances by both teams the last 3 years with the next gen. They need to get their sh– together and find speed,” one fan commented. While multiple wins and all is cool, they haven’t bagged the Bill France trophy, and for some reason, Team Penske has figured out the plot to success in this new era of NASCAR racing. Last year, two Penske drivers were competing for titles, but even Byron couldn’t make a mark or dent. Meanwhile, JGR had no drivers in the final 4.

“JGR’s ability to choke away championships needs to be studied tbh. Hamlin is the obvious one to make fun of but without Kyle Busch their last title came in 2005. In that timeframe, HMS has 9, Penske has 5, SHR has 2, and Furniture Row has 1. It seems like whenever someone gets screwed out of a title it ends up being a JGR driver,” wrote another fan, which indeed seems to be true. JGR has a troubling pattern of coming up short in Cup Series championships, especially after Kyle Busch’s title in 2019, as it has been going downhill with no titles without him since 2005. While Christopher Bell has two championship 4 appearances in the Next Gen era, Hamlin has drawn blanks.

But even with younger drivers on board, JGR has shown an impressive rivalry with other teams, as one fan opined, “Kinda impressive for JGR considering Ty is way younger and less experienced than anybody on the Hendrick side.” Despite being just 22 and significantly less experienced, Ty Gibbs has steadily improved in 2025, scoring three Top-10s, including a notable 3rd-place finish at Bristol and Michigan. Bell certainly seems to have taken up the mantle to represent the team in the knock-out stages. JGR is under a revamp, and they added Chase Briscoe to their lineup. It won’t be a surprise if they added another young rookie, as Hamlin’s days are numbered in the #11 car.

Other fans joked about just the top-most drivers carrying their teams forward, while others just take on the passenger seat. “This is basically Denny/Bell vs Hendricks,” one fan replied sarcastically. It has become a two-man duel as Hamlin sits third in the standings with 3 wins, eight Top 5s, nine Top 10s, and 487 laps led through 16 races, boasting a robust average finish of 12.8, while Bell isn’t far behind, matching Hamlin’s win total and adding seven Top 5s and eleven Top 10s, and a impressive average finish of 11.0. While HMS’s stars produce elite season metrics with Larson leading the laps led chart by 503 and Byron leading in average finish with 9.1, the 2025 season truly boils down to the top-most drivers who have been given priority by their teams. And the rivalry continues with just a few more races remaining before the playoffs.