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NASCAR superstar Denny Hamlin and legendary team owner Joe Gibbs don’t appear to be on the same page after Hamlin wrecked teammate – and Gibbs’ grandson – Ty Gibbs during Sunday’s Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The incident occurred on lap 109 of the 301-lap race.
Hamlin, who is one of 12 drivers remaining in the series playoffs, felt Gibbs, who is not in the playoffs, was intentionally holding him up for several laps. He then attempted to bump into Gibbs, moving him up the track. Instead, he sent Gibbs spinning into the wall, ending his race.
Denny Hamlin was frustrated in how his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate in Ty Gibbs was racing him, so he dumped him at the next chance he got.
Hamlin is still in the playoffs chasing his first title, but Gibbs didnt qualify this year. pic.twitter.com/fC2Pw5hbn2
— Always Race Day (@AlwaysRaceDay) September 21, 2025
Clearly frustrated with the result, Gibbs gave Hamlin a sarcastic thumbs-up as the rest of the field circled back by his crashed car. He then told members of the media that he got wrecked by his teammate and that he would “go see them next week.”
Prior to the incident, Hamlin had expressed his frustration with the way Gibbs was racing his three teammates, each of whom are in the playoffs. He then insinuated over the radio that the team was afraid to confront Gibbs because he is the grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs.
Denny Hamlin And Joe Gibbs Don’t Have Same View Of Ty Gibbs Incident
After the race, Hamlin took blame for the wreck. He told reporters that he made a mistake entering the corner and then he made too much contact with Gibbs.
However, he said that he would take a hands-off approach to how the team moves forward.
“I’ll let leadership kind of quarterback it however they want,” Hamlin said. “Obviously, us, the 20 (Christopher Bell), (and) the 19 (Chase Briscoe) are all trying to win a championship for their family. So it’s just crazy unfortunate why we’re racing the way we are.”
Joe Gibbs, however, had a different view of how the team should move forward.
Joe Gibbs talked with Denny Hamlin after the race. He says he will leave it up to the drivers to handle their issues. pic.twitter.com/y1Kz4SlIzv
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) September 21, 2025
“It’s always the drivers that have to handle that,” Joe Gibbs told reporters. “They’re the ones that got the wheel. And so, I think that’s always the case. So that’s what we’ll do.”
Asked whether he’ll have to step in at all, Joe Gibbs says that it’s for the drivers to work out between one another.
That’s a far different view than the one Hamlin expressed, and it could lead to serious drama for Joe Gibbs Racing at the worst possible time.