Just at the cusp of the championship, a rift is opening up in Joe Gibbs Racing. Denny Hamlin is the focus of the Cup Series title run in his 19th attempt, being the winningest driver of 2025. Even his teammates, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe, are dominant, as all three of them swept the Round of 16 races. However, his fourth teammate, Ty Gibbs, is not only out of the title conversation, but he is also whipping up a storm.

All this is happening while Team Penske is slowly establishing itself. While Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano attained glory at New Hampshire, Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs received criticism. Both had detractors for their actions. But recently, a usually tight-lipped Gibbs scaled up his offense.

Ty Gibbs rubs salt in the wound

On lap 110 of the Mobil 1 301 race, Ty Gibbs harnessed his stubborn reputation. He brought back the Ty who blocked Brandon Jones in a Martinsville playoff race during the 2022 Xfinity Series championship. Similarly, he did not give way to his teammates despite knowing how precious every track position is for them. And so in retaliation, Denny Hamlin harnessed his ‘black hat’ reputation as well. After a few warning bumps, the No. 11 Toyota pushed into the rear of the No. 54, spinning out the latter into the outside wall. Post-race, Hamlin pleaded his innocence, saying his action was not intentional.

However, Kevin Harvick called out the JGR veteran. “There’s no hiding that wasn’t intentional,” the 2014 Cup Series champion recently asserted on Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour. He added, ” You could have wiped out all three of them right there, and I just don’t understand…It’s a decision that can divide the shop, it’s a decision that shows a lot of people that you don’t really have a lot of respect [for others around you].” But while Harvick picked a side in this fiasco, what really mattered was the response to his commentary. Somebody reposted a screenshot of Harvick’s Instagram reel, placing a ‘finger-pointing’ emoji. That was none other than Ty Gibbs.

Clearly, Ty Gibbs is not backing out of blaming Denny Hamlin either. Initially, he dodged questions from the media after the race, simply saying, “It’s unfortunate.” This diplomacy attracted praise from fans for his calculated attitude. However, Gibbs apparently cannot hold his silence any longer, as is evident from his Instagram story.

Meanwhile, a sinister stretch begins in Kansas for Denny Hamlin. Due to his loose wheel fiasco in Bristol, two of Hamlin’s crewmen – jack man ‘Joel B’ Bouagnon and front tire changer Austin Maloney – will sit out Kansas and Charlotte. These No. 11 team members will be replaced by Nate McBride and Thomas Hatcher of the Front Row Motorsports No. 4 team. Hamlin deferred the penalty for one week to capitalize on the Magic Mile, but we all know that effort went south.

While veterans of the industry pick sides in the Ty Gibbs-Denny Hamlin ordeal, another veteran targeted a different entity.

Striking at the root of the problem

Joe Gibbs Racing is one of the most stellar Cup Series teams in NASCAR. Valued at over $230 million, the team boasts five Cup titles previously clinched by Bobby Labonte, Tony Stewart, and Kyle Busch. But since Busch fetched the 2019 Cup Series championship, JGR has been on a six-year dry streak. Amidst rising anticipation to snap that streak, the current dilemma does not sit well. What is more, 59-time Cup race winner Denny Hamlin is in an icky battle with the family’s racer, Ty Gibbs. In the middle of this mess, Joe Gibbs, once hailed as a magnificent football coach, chose to stay away.

Joe Gibbs insisted that the problem is with the drivers, not him. This attitude elicited shocked responses from not only Denny Hamlin but also Kyle Petty. The latter veteran driver laid out his worrisome opinion recently. “What disturbed me was what Joe Gibbs said. He said, ‘It’s not about me, it’s about the drivers.’ What’s that mean?” Petty asked. “I thought it was ‘Coach’ Gibbs. I know when I played sports back in high school, when I had a disagreement with a teammate, [the] coach put his arm around us. He said, ‘Look, boys, you gotta get along, man. You’re on the same team. Let’s get along.” 

Instead of taking a side, Kyle Petty sided with both Hamlin and Ty. He continued, “That’s not what Joe Gibbs is saying. He is saying, ‘Boys, have at it.’ When I say that, I have to rethink my position, Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs are right; there is an ‘I’ in team at JGR.”

Clearly, the New Hampshire fiasco might stretch out longer than expected. Let’s wait and see if Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs can resolve their differences in time.