In six years together, Denny Hamlin and Chris Gabehart had won 23 races and two Daytona 500s. If there was someone who could lead Hamlin to his championship glory, it was Gabehart. But after the 2024 season, Coach Gibbs and higher-ups at JGR made a call and decided to bring in a new leader in the #11 team. Chris Gayle left the #54 team and joined forces with Hamlin, whereas Chris Gabehart was moved to the role of competition director. It was a huge overhaul within the team, and many in the NASCAR community questioned if this was the right move.

“The first few days was a shock, but I’m moving on. There’s nothing I can do to change anything that happened, and JGR is doing what they feel is best for them and I totally understand that,” Hamlin said about these changes. He wasn’t sold on the idea entirely, but now that he had three wins to his name, the mood has shifted within the #11 camp. And another bold move by Coach was bringing in Chase Briscoe and pairing him with James Small. The #19 team had the speed, which was evident with 4 pole wins, but at Pocono, they finally delivered the goods.

In an era of modern racing, how was JGR leadership so precise about their changes, and in turn, has directly led to positive results on the racetrack? As it turns out, it’s not about those calling the shots, but the boots who are working on the ground, making all the difference.

“Well, I think we’ve kind of been talking about I have it’s the people and I think everything for instance with Chris Gayle, we just had signed his contract when things weren’t going well a year ago because we just think the world of him and we decided to make the change we made and he’s jumped right into the 11th spot. The other part of it is everybody knows here we too, Chris moved him to competition director… But we got great people, and we made those changes and you’re never sure in pro sports. So hard. But, it certainly has been rewarding for us so far this year, the move we’ve made,” Team owner, Joe Gibbs, said in an interview after the race.

Chase Briscoe and his team were running on fumes, trying their best to save enough fuel to cross the start-finish line. Despite the tough ordeal, the former Stewart Haas Racing driver kept his cool and kept the #11 Toyota Camry in his rear-view mirror. With this win, three of the four JGR cars have already booked their spot in the playoffs, and the only remaining driver to make the cut is Ty Gibbs. The good news is that he is only 35 points shy of the cutoff line, and with a P3 finish in Mexico followed by decent top 20 finishes, he is clicking off at the right time.

At Michigan, he was advised to save fuel and saw his teammate, Hamlin, win the race. In Mexico, he was the closest rival Shane van Gisbergen had all day. He was on the lead before a late race caution threw a wrench in his plans, so the #54 car also had speed; now they need to execute in the upcoming nine races.

Joe Gibbs appreciates the grind put in by Chase Briscoe

At a time when young and upcoming drivers are always competing for the seat, JGR opted to go for Chase Briscoe to replace Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 19 Camry. He’s been through it all. Four years at SHR weren’t the best, yet despite being against the odds, he notched up two wins. And he was the one who gave the entire organization a respectable send-off last year with a playoff run with the #14 team.

But as soon as he joined JGR, the expectations changed, and winning multiple races and competing for the title became the primary objective. It is indeed tough for a new driver to gel with a crew chief in a different environment altogether, yet Briscoe has been able to achieve that in just half a season. And while the credit goes to James Small for the brilliant strategy calls, Coach Gibbs recognized Briscoe’s hard grind to find himself with a team that can help him contend for wins.

“Our first year with Chase, he deserves so much credit. And if you look at his background, he’s paid a huge price to be able to get here. If you look at the years he’s spent, sleeping on people’s couches, it shows you again what a hard climb it is to get to Cup. And I think it’s two great stories, two guys that deserve it, really appreciate it,” Gibbs added.

Now that Briscoe and the #19 team have sealed their playoff spot, they can go all-out in search of more wins or playoffs points and prepare their plans for the title charge.