Denny Hamlin Warns JGR of Consequences if They Have “No Rules” for Teammate Duels

Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin has shared his thoughts on his beef with Ty Gibbs and how not having rules is going to affect them.


Denny Hamlin Warns JGR of Consequences if They Have “No Rules” for Teammate Duels

Denny Hamlin (Via @JoeGibbsRacing/X)

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Joe Gibbs Racing had a nightmare of a day at New Hampshire, despite coming into the weekend with the most momentum after their R-16 sweep. Veteran Denny Hamlin dumped teammate Ty Gibbs, after a frustrating duel, ruining the No:54 Toyota drivers’ race while he himself didn’t gain any solid finish in the event.

On the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, Denny Hamlin explained the reason for the wreck and urged his boss Joe Gibbs, as well as the management of JGR to get involved in order to make the rules of teammate engagement clear to the garage. He doesn’t want this drama to yield a dynamic where teammates are free to race each other extra hard.

What I want to happen is leadership step in and tell us, what do you want us to do? If you want us all to just race each other cut-throat, no matter what your position is in the stature of the standings, we can definitely do that.

Denny Hamlin said on his Actions Detrimental podcast.

The veteran explained the only time the teammates should be allowed to race like proper rivals is when they are in the fight for the same trophy. So, he and his teammates Chase Briscoe and Christopher Bell are allowed to fight each other as all three of them are in the chase for the 2025 championship.  

Like I expect myself and the 19 [Chase Briscoe] and the 20 [Christopher Bell] to race really, really hard because we’re all battling each other to get above this cutline or maintain our status above the cutline.

Denny Hamlin added.

He wants to them to make it clear that if the racers are allowed to do anything for a race win, even if they are fighting a teammate who is in the championship chase. The three times Daytona 500 winner declared that if it is allowed, then there will be chaos. If there are no rules to follow, the dynamic would be ruined and the team will not be producing any positive results from it.

If I get eliminated or the 19 gets eliminated or the 20 gets eliminated, and then we’ve established this ‘no rules — you guys just do whatever you wanna do,’ none of us are going to win.

Denny Hamlin asserted.

Denny Hamlin insists teammates shouldn’t always been your hardest challenge

In the same conversation, the winningest racer in history of Joe Gibbs Racing explained how winning races have become tougher than ever and how changes in teammate dynamic shouldn’t make it harder than it is right now. He reminded Ty Gibbs and Joe Gibbs Racing that if they fail to be good teammates, they are going to lose more than win events.

Denny Hamlin
Denny Hamlin (via IMAGO)

You’re racing against where we have seen year in and year out, and it will continue to happen more and more, like it or not, teammates are going to start giving spots this time of the year. … If you’re going up against that and not only not being good teammates but yet being the most difficult ones to past, well then none of us have a shot.

Denny Hamlin said.

The comments from then the JGR racer seems rational and something Coch Gibbs as well as his crew should take into account while they have the all-important team meeting for the week. It would be interesting to see how the team is going address the situation and how this going affect their teammate game for the rest of the season.

Also Read: Denny Hamlin Exposes Why He Dumped Ty Gibbs at New Hampshire