Joe Gibbs Loyalist Denny Hamlin Sends a Message to Truex Jr, C-Bell, & Ty’s Teams After What Happened at the Gateway

The WWT Raceway almost treated Denny Hamlin with a win. With just two laps remaining, Hamlin passed Kyle Larson and got in position to steal the top spot from Kyle Busch. However, Busch somehow held on to his lead and Hamlin was left half a second short in the end. Moreover, after several hurdles including the alarming weather conditions, the Joe Gibbs Racing camp certainly had a rough time. Later on, Hamlin talked about a particularly unfortunate incident that happened during the race.

The weather played spoilsport early on as just five laps into the Enjoy Illinois 300, lightning struck nearby and the race was postponed for an hour. The race also had a nasty surprise for a Joe Gibbs Racing crew member, who got seriously injured. Following the intense episode at the iconic track just a couple of miles from St’ Lewis and the Mississippi River, JGR veteran Denny Hamlin was all praise for his crew members as he shed some light on the unity at the JGR camp.

Denny Hamlin lauds his teammates’ crew as the whole camp came together at a time of distress

Despite being injured, the teammate gave it his all so that his driver Hamlin could get the W.

Unity is strength, and the JGR teams proved it. The unity of the entire Joe Gibbs Racing garage was on display during NASCAR’s eventful race at the WWT Raceway on Sunday. Fielding four full-time Cup Series teams (#11, #19, #20, and #54), JGR is one of the top camps in the sport. However, On Sunday, Hamlin‘s #11 team witnessed an emergency when the weather made it rough for the crew members to work in the pit.

Speaking on his popular podcast, Action Detrimental, the 42-year-old driver recalled how his injured teammate put on a great show that led to Hamlin’s impressive run. The #11 Toyota Camry’s tire changer, AJ Rosini, showed true grit after an air regulator broke and the hose hit him in the face.

Rosini however decided to stitch up the cut on his upper lip and stood his ground on the pit lane, changing tires with a stitched-up face and a big heart. While the commotion raised the tension in the #11 camp, fellow JGR members from Martin Truex Jr‘s #19 team, Christopher Bell‘s crew members from his #20 team, and Ty Gibbs’ #54 team members, all rushed to aid their injured teammate.

Reflecting on the intensity of the situation, Hamlin thanked his fellow JGR team members. “Shout out to Michael Hicks, the #20 team, the #54 team, #19 team. They all came down and tried to help out our team, you know, get all that fixed,” said a proud Hamlin excluding with pride. 

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Furthermore, the 42-year-old veteran also detailed the incident that shook the JGR camp.

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Hamlin recalls the incident as he paints a picture for his co-host while praising the #11 crew

Getting hit in the face is definitely something we all try to avoid. What happens when you least expect it; that too, on the track? That’s what Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 had in store for Joe Gibbs Racing. Bad luck got the best of AJ Rosini as he was decked in the face by a flying hose.

Hamlin, who was in the pit box with his crew chief Chris Gabehart at the time, recalled the incident. He heard a sound and the next thing the driver saw was his anxious crew chief cussing in frustration. Hamlin explained the situation to his co-host, saying, “I guess the regulator burst. They were working on it, and you know, it’s turned off, but you still got pressure in the line, so …”

He added, “when it’s disconnected or burst or whatever happened, it flew out and hit him right in the face and took out a tooth and his upper lip was kinda dangling there for a second.” Despite the serious injury that needed eight to ten stitches, Rosini got stitched up and remained at the pit stop, helping his driver finish second.

Despite being outspoken at times, even against his team members, after seeing a stitched-up Rosini mending the tires, Hamlin lauded the tire-changer for having a lion’s heart. He added, “This is terrible for him first of all, but then, I’m cursed like under red we now lose a crew guy. But AJ man! He s*cked it up and they gave me their best weekend on pit road to date. So shout out to my #11 team for a great day on pit road.”

READ MORE: Weeks After Throwing Joe Gibbs Racing Crew Under the Bus, Denny Hamlin Gets All Pumped Up on the Radio