The NASCAR Cup Series has seen its share of spicy media moments, but few match Kyle Busch’s legendary stonewall at the 2021 Bucked Up 200 Truck race in Las Vegas. When Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass pushed Busch to explain a track spin, he fired back with a blunt “Nope” three times in a row, shutting the interview down cold.

That clip exploded online, painting Busch as the king of no-nonsense pressers. Some called it dodging, others saw it as sidestepping a penalty trap. Either way, it added another chapter to Busch’s saga of sharp-tongued media run-ins, a playbook that Joe Gibbs Racing’s young gun, Ty Gibbs, seems to have studied.

Fast-forward to the 2025 Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where Gibbs found himself in the hot seat after a heated clash with teammate Denny Hamlin. During Stage 2, as Hamlin battled for playoff position, Gibbs, out of the postseason but racing hard, got in his way.

When reporters pressed Gibbs post-race about Hamlin’s frustration and what JGR’s internal talks might look like, he channeled Busch’s brevity, “It’s unfortunate. But, I’m excited to go race next week.”

No deep dive, no blame game, just a quick pivot to the future, sparing Grandpa Joe’s team any more embarrassment. It was a classic move to keep the focus off JGR’s dirty laundry and on the next race.

Hamlin’s fiery radio rant

The Stage 2 chaos at Loudon wasn’t just a racing incident. It was a full-on teammate showdown that had Denny Hamlin seeing red. As he fought for playoff positioning, sitting 12th behind Gibbs’ No. 54 in 11th, Hamlin let loose on the radio, “Does Ty know we’re going for a championship? What the f—?”

The 44-year-old, still chasing his first Cup title, was livid that Gibbs, a non-playoff driver without a career Cup win, wouldn’t yield. “This is some teammate bulls**t,” he vented, per Jeff Gluck, clearly fed up with Gibbs’ aggressive defense.

By Turn 1 on Lap 54, Hamlin had enough, bumping Gibbs and sending him spinning into the wall. “What the f— is he doing?” Hamlin raged, adding, “Are they afraid to talk to him? That’s what I feel like. They’re scared of him.”

Meanwhile, Gibbs kept his cool, firing back on his radio with a defiant “Game on” after the wreck. He even cracked a joke about the tow truck driver, “This is hilarious. I wish I could just spin this guy out and break myself away from this thing.”

Gibbs’ lighthearted jab and brief post-race comment tied back to his Busch-like dodge, keeping JGR’s internal spat from spiraling while Hamlin’s playoff pressure and teammate tensions took center stage at New Hampshire.