“Your calm, your race craft—it’s exactly what we need.” This is what Ty Gibbs had to say about his crew chief, Tyler Allen, at the start of the 2025 season. The youngster praised Allen’s blend of engineering, smarts, and steady leadership. But with news of Chris Gabehart stepping atop the No. 54 pit box, that praise now hangs in the air, raising all sorts of questions.
Ty Gibbs’ 2025 run has had some amount of flashes, strong mid-pack results, and a few top tens, but still no cupcake. Even with Allen’s fresh energy behind him, Gibbs remains outside the playoff bubble, sitting 24th in the standings with no guaranteed postseason spot. So when Chris, fresh off a legendary career as Denny Hamlin’s crew chief and moving to Joe Gibbs Racing competition director, jumped into the pit box at Atlanta, it wasn’t unusual; it was telling.
Is this the beginning of the end for Tyler Allen?
Ty Gibbs and Tyler Allen were always due to have a rocky start. Gibbs’ rookie and sophomore crew chief, Chris Gayle, moved to Denny Hamlin’s #11 team, with Gibbs left to start from scratch with a younger crew chief at the helm. As expected, the results left a lot to be desired when the season started, but recent results like his 3rd place run at Michigan showed promise, and it’s Chris Gabehart’s advice from that drive that sticks out.
A recent Beating and Banging episode on YouTube captured the energy shift perfectly. After the race at Michigan, Ty Gibbs muttered, “F—— give that away.” It was a shock, a frustrated reaction to him coming so close to winning. And it led to a brief but revealing radio exchange. Tyler Allen, in his cool, calm way, praised Gibbs, saying, “Way to stick with it. Good job, guys. I know that’s hard, man. Really good job.”
However, Joe Gibbs Racing competition director and Denny Hamlin’s former crew chief, Chris Gabehart, jumped in. He says, “Hey, we didn’t give them nothing today. We had a great day. We did what we needed to do. We got a top five. Our other car [Denny Hamlin] won. It’s about big picture. All right, take this and build.” That big picture now includes Chris joining Gibbs’ Box in a more hands-on role for the foreseeable future. And for a younger driver like Ty, who is still winless in his third Cup season, it might be the boost he needs. However, there’s considerable pressure to perform as Ty Gibbs remains the only Joe Gibbs Racing driver not to have won a race in 2025!
This doesn’t mean Gabehart completely takes over, as Tyler Allen isn’t some placeholder, and his resume is quite impressive: a University of Washington engineer, part of the 2019 championship crew chief Adam Stevens’ team with Kyle Busch. But now, Allen, the rookie Cup Series crew chief, faces a test. Chris’s presence, though supportive, may cast a shadow.
LONG POND, PENNSYLVANIA – JULY 14: Ty Gibbs, driver of the #54 Monster Energy Toyota, waits on the grid prior to the NASCAR Cup Series The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.com at Pocono Raceway on July 14, 2024 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
According to Beating and Banging’s host, Kyle Dalton, “This move, while it makes sense, I could see how it could create some uncertainty for the number 54 team for the rest of the year.” It’s a fact of concern. Allen’s been with Ty since his jump to full-time Cup racing in 2025, guiding him through growing pains, media pressure, and adapting to the Next-Gen car. He’s known the garage to be calm, analytical, and loyal. Still, in NASCAR, loyalty often comes second to results.
Ty Gibbs has improved this season, but the numbers still tell a mixed story. As of now, he sits 24th in the Cup series standings with zero wins and only five top tens to show through 18 races. Yes, he’s led laps, including 32 at Atlanta, and yes, he has shown speed, but a lot of it has come after Gabehart’s increased involvement, and that’s what makes this coaching dynamic so delicate.
Tyler Allen’s development path with Ty Gibbs was supposed to be long-term. Chris’s arrival shortens the leash, and if Gibbs wins soon, the credit may not land with the man who has been there from the beginning. A lot of questions emerge, like, how long is Tyler Allen going to be benched for? Is Ty’s season slipping away? With just eight races to go before the playoffs, will Ty make it? And is granddad Joe Gibbs about to shift things around in this high-stakes drama? However, amidst all these questions, NASCAR veteran Kevin Harvick thinks that this move is going to be the best one yet for Ty.
Kevin Harvick backs Gabehart’s new role
At EchoPark Speedway, Chris Gabehart didn’t just advise from the box; he was calling shots and actively collaborating with Tyler Allen during the race. Ty Gibbs finished 14th that day despite being involved in incidents, leading 32 laps, and while it wasn’t a win, it marked one of the more composed and competitive runs of his season.
NBC Sports’ Dustin Long reported that Gabehart worked directly with Gibbs on radio communications while orchestrating trade strategy with Allen, a tag team setup rarely seen at this level. The symbolism of having Chris step in isn’t lost on anyone. It’s not just about giving Ty a boost. It’s about injecting battle-tested wisdom into a sophomore campaign that has lacked execution in critical moments.
However, Kevin Harvick couldn’t hold back on this JGR Driver. On his most recent Happy Hour podcast, Kevin Harvick said, “I think with Ty [Gibbs], it’s improved a lot over the last two or three months. They’ve had the speed to be able to win races. I think that just getting all the i’s dotted and the t’s crossed just to be able to finish that off and actually get to Victory Lane is the part they’re working on.”
Harvick compared the move to finding “that last little crumb” to push the team over the edge, one veteran voice helping a young driver and a rookie crew chief get over the hump. He goes on to say, “Having Chris Gabehart there helping make decisions is going to put it into a position that brings a lot of experience to a very young team.”
So what happens if that crumb never materializes? If Gibbs can’t win, does Gabehart take over permanently? Joe Gibbs Racing is known for sticking by people, but this move feels less like loyalty and more like a pressure valve. Whether it’s a short-term pit box experiment or the beginning of a quiet crew chief transition, one thing is clear. JGR wants all four cars in the playoffs, and they are not afraid to shuffle roles to get there.
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