It is no doubt that Joe Gibbs is one of the pivotal figures in Denny Hamlin’s career. If not for Gibbs’ continuous trust in Denny Hamlin, the No. 11 driver might not be where he is today. So, when Hamlin finally broke through the pain of his tragedies to win at Las Vegas, Gibbs couldn’t help but feel proud of his ‘on-track’ son, despite the question of where that leaves Kyle Busch in the team’s legacy.

Joe Gibbs praises Denny Hamlin’s grit despite tragic loss

In spite of everything that he went through, Hamlin’s performance did not take a huge toll. The No. 11 driver did accept that he needed to work on his skills to climb back to the same level of performance from last season. However, team owner Joe Gibbs feels like Hamlin has already made his breakthrough and is performing at the level expected of him.

“Obviously he went through a lot last year. Everything with his parents to see Mary Lou out there right now, I think, was a big deal for her and the family. And so I just appreciate them so much and miss Dennis, and so he’s been through a lot.

“And Denny seems to have the ability to just–he can continue to work through things and has a way of just really still being very competitive. He stays in, does the same hard work, and really follows after it, and so I just appreciate him so much.”

While talking about his driver, Gibbs couldn’t help but feel proud of the progress that he made throughout the years. Spending two decades with Denny Hamlin, it is clear that Joe Gibbs considers him more than an employee who races for him 36 weekends a year.

“I think Denny has gone through a process that all of you have seen. I have seen it, and from when he first got here, he was very shy, and you had to push to get him to have a conversation with you. Today he’s got a podcast, and he’s got a lot going on.

“I mean, we’ve been riding Denny for about 20 years here. So it’s been an awfully good trip for us.”

When his family was struck with tragedies one after another, it felt like the ‘villain of NASCAR‘ would lose his mojo. However, after the Las Vegas race, it is clear that the owner of 23XI Racing and No. 11 driver, Denny Hamlin, has an unparalleled strength of mind.

However, the fans can’t help but notice the favoritism in his voice. Especially when you compare Hamlin’s achievements to his former teammate, Kyle Busch. Sure, Hamlin is one of the best at Joe Gibbs Racing and in NASCAR; however, he was still lacking in comparison to Kyle Busch.

While Busch was at Joe Gibbs Racing, he gave them two championships and a plethora of wins. Busch was always a consistent and top performer while racing for Joe Gibbs. So it feels rather awkward when talking about Denny Hamlin being the top dog of JGR.

After all, even with his success, Hamlin has still failed to replicate the same accolades that Kyle Busch held. In fact, Hamlin also went through a massive dip in performance from 2016 to 2019. His former teammate did much better in comparison, yet he does not get the same recognition from Gibbs.

While Denny Hamlin had to handle a lot of things before the 2026 season, his team owner is having to handle some similar situations this year itself.

Joe Gibbs is already tired of lawsuit hearings

Joe Gibbs was the one who initiated the lawsuit against Chris Gabehart. However, it seems like he doesn’t really want to stretch it for too long.

When asked about the lawsuit and his court appearance on Monday, Joe Gibbs’ answer was rather dull.

“Yeah. I just don’t want to be in court, but we’re going to be there. I just think it’s important for us to follow through with this,” said Gibbs while talking about his expectations from Monday’s hearing about the lawsuit.

For some time it did seem like Gabehart had the upper hand on Joe Gibbs. His declaration made it seem like Gabehart was innocent. However, the recent revelations have turned the tables on Chris Gabehart.

Multiple proofs point towards the fact that Gabehart carried sensitive JGR information with him. While his team is trying to prove that his actions were not deliberate, the result is yet to be decided.