“There’s been a lot of times he’s been really ticked off at me.” Denny Hamlin said these words about Joe Gibbs last year. A two-decade-old partnership in the NASCAR Cup Series can tend to produce moments of joy and conflict. Unfortunately, on Sunday at the Circuit of The Americas, Hamlin and his team owner were in a bad mood.
While Christopher Bell was making his way towards victory, his teammate was running into problems. Denny Hamlin faced chaos multiple times during the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. And according to Joe Gibbs, the blameworthy person was visible.
Rubbing salt on Denny Hamlin’s wounds
The No. 11 Toyota driver has not been particularly sharp at COTA. Denny Hamlin’s best finish of 8th came in 2022 and 2024. However, watching his teammate break down weaknesses while the 44-year-old wallows in misery can be painful. Christopher Bell went back-to-back on wholly different racetracks. After tackling the superspeedway-intermediate hybrid track in Atlanta, the No. 20 driver beat the tricky esses of a reconfigured road course. Meanwhile, Hamlin washed up against chaotic wrecks.
With 18 laps to go on Sunday, Denny Hamlin unexpectedly locked his brakes and slammed into Austin Dillon’s No. 3 car. That sent the latter off into the gravel, bringing out a caution flag. Television replays showed a dirt cloud trail behind the Joe Gibbs Racing car. According to ‘Actions Detrimental’ co-host Jared Allen, Hamlin was perceived as trying to look out for his teammate. However, Hamlin denied this. “Let me just educate folks and the conspiracy theorists. I am a competitive person, as you may know. There is nobody that I hate seeing win more than my teammate.”
Christopher Bell’s victory was a chafing experience for Denny Hamlin “Because I know they’re driving the same thing that I’m driving… I know what every driver (says) – Oh, I’m so happy for my teammate winning. I mean, I love Christopher – he is a great dude. But I don’t want him to beat me. That’s not a good look for me.” One can only imagine how devastated Hamlin was at Martinsville in 2022 when his teammate, Bell, won the race as his #11 got passed by a wall-riding Ross Chastain to get kicked out of the Championship 4.
Hamlin proceeded to explain his dire predicament, with an excuse for the weekend’s poor outing: “So you always measure yourself off your teammates. Trust me, I never saw the lead all day. I had no f—— idea who was up front… I had three fenders on the car – that’s my excuse for the weekend. I qualified well, I mean, come on, give me a little credit here.” Hamlin did qualify for the race in 11th, but an opening lap incident ignited by Ross Chastain ruined the fender on his car, which hampered him for the rest of the race.
However, Joe Gibbs was not willing to offer his veteran driver credit. Denny Hamlin’s co-host, Jared Allen, recalled a pit road story where he asked Gibbs what he thought. “I asked J.G. at the pit box what’s inhibiting us more? The fact that the car only has three fenders or the driver’s skill? (He said) it’s about 50-50.” That evoked a woeful groan from Hamlin: “Ugh.”
Hamlin’s struggles on road courses are quite evident for all to see. While he was a consistent performer in his early days, since the introduction of the Next-Gen car, Hamlin has struggled, The veteran driver has managed only one top-10 finish at a road course since 2022 and that was a 2nd place at Watkins Glen in 2023. He also amassed 7 finishes of 20th or worse on road courses in the new car. So, it should come as no surprise when Joe Gibbs slaps some of the blame onto his skills.
Clearly, Denny Hamlin’s JGR plan needs a bit of a fresh perspective. But while he navigates his own problems, his other team’s fortunes are looking up.
Inking a new partnership
Denny Hamlin has a lot on his plate. Besides fulfilling his driving duties at JGR, he is also the co-owner of 23XI Racing along with Michael Jordan. This team and Front Row Motorsports have been dealing with the NASCAR lawsuit since October last year. After the courtroom allowed them to compete for the 2025 season, things have eased up a bit, and 23XI drivers are making the most of it. Both Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace dominated the front row while qualifying for COTA. Reddick, the 2024 regular season champion, clinched third place at the end of the race. Besides this remarkable showing on the racetrack, 23XI Racing also secured a snazzy new partnership.
Upper Deck, a global entertainment company creating trading cards, memorabilia, games, and other stuff, initially linked with 23XI in 2024. Now, the brand has renewed its sponsorship of Denny Hamlin’s team. An official 23XI Racing statement read, “Last year, the collaboration debuted with Upper Deck featured on the No. 45 Toyota Camry at Darlington Raceway, as Tyler Reddick raced his way to the regular season championship. The expanded collaboration will continue to see Upper Deck highlighted on-track with 23XI’s drivers and feature Upper Deck authenticated memorabilia and race-used collectibles.”
Evidently, Denny Hamlin is simultaneously going through the highs and lows of his career. Let us wait and see if he can catch up with his teammate in the upcoming races.
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