At Martinsville Speedway last Sunday, Denny Hamlin powered to a hard-earned victory. It shattered many personal milestones and miseries for Hamlin. He snapped a 31-race winless streak and notched up his 55th career win, tying him for 11th on the all-time list with Rusty Wallace. His win on Sunday was his sixth at Martinsville, but his first in 10 years. Despite the magnitude of the victory, a veteran NASCAR journalist didn’t seem happy with the manner of the race.
The #11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver led 274 laps and finished 4 seconds ahead of Christopher Bell to take home the Grandfather Clock. This dominance led to Jeff Gluck questioning the nature of the victory, while Hamlin’s former crew chief came to his aid and issued a deafening response to Gluck on X.
Denny Hamlin’s former crew chief snapped at Jeff Gluck
Hamlin’s performance at the Cook Out 400 showed that his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team still has the juice. His former crew chief-turned competition director at JGR, Chris Gabehart, was all smiles, saying, “It had that look to it… It was awesome to see them dominate for sure.” Gabehart’s confidence in the #11 shone through with that drive, but Jeff Gluck was not feeling it.
Speaking to Jordan Bianchi on the Teardown podcast, Gluck referenced the softer tires used in the race and said, “You know, the drivers are very convincing, and they’re saying, look, we just want a tire that falls off, a tire that wears. But then you see a race like today, okay, you have this softer tire, but we didn’t necessarily see the passing… this race would have been a hell of a lot more entertaining today if you had different tire compounds, right? With guys really rocketing their way through the field.”
Gluck feels that Hamlin’s victory came because no one had the grip on their tires to overtake him. However, Hamlin must be credited for managing his tire strategy so well. In fact, his efficiency led to him being able to string together a burnout that went around the entire track and thrilled fans at the Paperclip. So, upon seeing this strong take from Gluck, Gabehart couldn’t help but give his two cents on the matter: “I think, instead, we should make all the cars 100% identical and see if the drivers can overcome the natural laws of physics. I’ll wait…” Gabehart wrote in reply on X, which was dripping with sarcasm.
Gabehart is talking a jibe at the Next-Gen cars and their parity being the real reason for this take from Gluck. Ever since the car was introduced in 2022, it drastically changed the sport. Every team received standardized equipment and the only way to gain an advantage was in assembly. This is why Gabehart feels the option tire is just NASCAR’s way of trying to plaster a concerning amount of parity with the cars. Notably, Martinsville followed a softer tire strategy at Martinsville during the fall race last year but decided not to for the spring race this time. Gabehart is insinuating that softer tires just give an advantage to cars that are lagging and involve more gamble than strategy, which is a point he has emphasized before, too.
I think, instead, we should make all the cars 100% identical and see if the drivers can overcome the natural laws of physics.
I’ll wait…
— Chris Gabehart (@CG1751) March 31, 2025
The option tire made its comeback in 2025 at Phoenix Raceway after its 2024 debut at Richmond received lots of praise. This race saw drivers like Ryan Oreece of RFK Racing shoot up from 33rd to 11th in just over a lap, and RCR’s Austin Dillon ended up with a top-15 finish. Richard Boswell, Dillon’s crew chief, praised the tire and said, “I’m a fan of the option tire being the standard tire and something even softer being the option.” Gabehart once again took to X and mocked the RCR crew chief, writing, “Summary: He’s a fan of getting to participate for the win via the Caution Lottery,” emphasizing his disdain toward the option tire being used as a gamble during a late race caution to make up track position.
The option tire debate will continue to rage on. After the Phoenix race, Hamlin was a fan of the tires but did not want to see them as an option for a reason similar to Gabehart’s. “The best car will not win,” Hamlin said on option tires on his Actions Detrimental podcast. And to his point, Martinsville had no option tires and indeed, the best car won the race, and Chris Gabehart had a feeling he would.
Chris Gabehart called it
Denny Hamlin’s Martinsville win was not something that was set in stone. The JGR driver was going through the aforementioned winless streak, and no one expected him to roll back the years in such fashion. Well, saying ‘no one’ would be incorrect because his former crew chief Chris Gabehart saw it coming and vocalized his feelings too! “I told several of them this morning that I thought it was the No. 11 winning today… That’s definitely what they’re capable of,” said Gabehart after the race.
Hamlin reflected on Gabehart’s comments in the post-race press conference, saying, “He [Chris Gabehart] says, ‘When I get these feelings that we’re going to be in Victory Lane – I got that feeling today.’ I said, ‘Oh jeez, here we go again. I’ve heard this before.’ I don’t know what your win percentage is, but I think it’s pretty low on your feelings.”
Hamlin was proved wrong, and we are sure he was glad to be proven wrong. This isn’t just about a win. It’s personal. Hamlin and Gabehart go way back. 22 Cup Series victories together. Gabehart knows JGR like the back of his hand; he is the competition director for a reason, and when he predicted Hamlin’s triumph, it made him that extra bit happy. “Those were my guys, man,” Gabehart said after the race, cracking with emotion. That bond, that trust—it’s why this is a bigger burn for Hamlin. He doubted the one guy who’s been in his corner, and now he’s eating his words.
Hamlin’s been through hell this year—losing FedEx after 20 years, swapping Gabehart for Chris Gayle as crew chief, and fighting NASCAR in court with his team, 23XI Racing. Yet, here he is, waving that “11 against the world” flag, proving he’s still got it at 44. But Gabehart’s call? That’s the twist of the knife. “I guess I’ve got to start listening to him,” Hamlin said, half-laughing, half-grimacing.
Well, the next thing Hamlin would love for Gabehart to predict is a championship, as that’s the only thing missing from Hamlin’s arsenal of trophies. Do you think the #11 can finally break the championship curse this year? Let us know in the comments!
The post Denny Hamlin’s Former JGR Rudder Claps Back at Veteran Over Controversial Take On His Long Sought Win appeared first on EssentiallySports.
