“What the f-ck is he doing?” asked Ty Gibbs on the team radio. The No. 54 Toyota was racing hard against teammate Denny Hamlin when the two made contact at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. A slight nudge by the No. 11 on Gibbs’ left rear sent the In-Season Challenge winner spinning, and he went on to slam into the outside wall. Joe Gibbs couldn’t help but look on helplessly from the sidelines as tempers flared on the racetrack.

With Hamlin in the middle of a championship run, Joe Gibbs Racing can’t afford to have its drivers competing against each other. And the team owner issued a diplomatic response after the checkered flag was waved, making it known that it was up to the drivers to sort out the ‘situation.’

Joe Gibbs is not willing to get drawn into the controversy

The stakes couldn’t be higher with the Round of 12 officially underway. With Joe Gibbs Racing having swept the first three races in the playoffs, expectations were high from the Toyota outfit going into New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and Chase Briscoe had already entered Victory Lane, while Ty Gibbs, winless and out of contention, was eager to prove a point at ‘The Magic Mile,’ which may go on to explain his heated tussle with the No. 11 on track. Unfortunately, it didn’t end well for the youngster.

After the race, team owner Joe Gibbs candidly said, “It’s always the drivers that have to handle that. They’re the ones that got the wheel, so I think that’s always the case. So, that’s what we’ll do. These guys are the ones driving the cars, so we’ll get these guys together and sort it out.” When asked if he was upset about the incident, Gibbs went on to say, “I think it’s hard for me, okay. It’s not me; it’s the drivers. It’s the way I’ve always looked at this.”

Surprisingly, Ty Gibbs didn’t just have a tussle with one, but two drivers at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The No. 54 driver even made contact with Christopher Bell, and was heard saying on the team radio that he “won’t take any more crap from my teammate.” Hamlin, who was directly behind his teammates, witnessed the incident firsthand and couldn’t help but say, “Does Ty know we are going for a championship. What the f-ck?” Later, the veteran racer also said, “Are they afraid to talk to him? That’s what I feel like. They’re just scared of him.”

For Ty Gibbs, it was all fun and games. The young racer is fighting for nothing but pride in the remaining races this campaign, and his reaction to the incident involving Denny Hamlin was, “Game on.” Despite being forced onto the pit road for repairs, the No. 54 Toyota emerged back onto the racetrack later, battered and bruised. Unfortunately, Gibbs’ day went from bad to worse when he nearly crashed after hitting the Turn 2 wall.

This isn’t the first time Gibbs has had a run-in with a teammate. He infamously denied Brandon Jones a Championship 4 spot during the 2022 Xfinity Series season when he wrecked him for the win. This time around, he was eager to get payback for Denny Hamlin wrecking the No. 54, and issued a warning in the post-race interview, saying, “We’ll see him next week.” This will make for some awkward meetings in the Joe Gibbs Racing camp this week, given the circumstances between the drivers.

Denny Hamlin opens up about the Gibbs incident

Denny Hamlin was understandably disappointed at how the race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway played out. Having won his fifth race of the season at Gateway during the playoffs Round of 16, the veteran was hoping to lock his place into the next round with a triumph at the 2025 Mobil 1 301, but was forced to settle for a 12th-place finish, a disappointing outcome after starting ninth. The 44-year-old didn’t mince his words in the post-race interview.

Sharing his thoughts about the ‘incident,’ Hamlin said, “We made contact into 1. It was like the fourth or fifth time we made contact. Eventually ended up being spun.” Admitting to his fault, the Virginia-native said, “I made a mistake in Turn 1 so, would have made a mistake with anybody in that position. I was trying to get by him. That was a task in itself.” He concluded by admitting, “Us, the #19 and #20 are trying to win the championship for their family, so it’s crazy, unfortunate, why we’re racing the way we are.”

Despite the disappointing outcome, Hamlin has two more races to make amends. The next stop will be Kansas Speedway in the penultimate Round of 12 playoff race, giving the veteran another opportunity to qualify. But with Ty Gibbs seemingly issuing a warning, could the drama escalate at the upcoming Hollywood Casino 400? Time will tell. But if Joe Gibbs Racing truly wants to end Team Penske’s dominance in the Next-Gen era, they’ll need their drivers to work together.