Joe Gibbs Racing president explains moving Chris Gabehart off of Denny Hamlin team

This morning Joe Gibbs Racing announced a large shakeup in the organization. Chris Gabehart was promoted to competition director. Denny Hamlin will now work with Chris Gayle as his crew chief.

The changes at Joe Gibbs Racing have been genuinely shocking. Denny Hamlin was not aware of the change prior to a meeting at night at JGR. However, the organization is standing firm in their decision.

Matt Weaver of Sportsnaut shared comments JGR president Dave Alpern had about the situation on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Alpern put it simply, this was a move for Joe Gibbs Racing as a whole, not a slight against Hamlin.

“It was important to announce the Gabehart part first because everything flows from that,” Alpern said. The hiring was made to replace Wally Brown who retired from the road in 2023. So, it was an overdue hiring and one that JGR wanted to do internally.

On Sirius, Gibbs president Dave Alpern says they had a hole to fill since 2023 at competition director when Wally Brown got off the road and wanted to fill it internally. They wanted Gabehart. Alpern said it had nothing to do with the 11 team and was about JGR holistically. They…

— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) November 22, 2024

“We’re partners with 23XI in every sense of the word,” Weaver reported Alpern saying. “… Denny personally has done a great job separating the driver and the owner. Denny just happen to be the driver that had a crew chief that was a rising star in our sport.”

Chris Gabehart is incredibly well respected in the garage. He is largely credited for reviving Hamlin’s career after his winless season a number of years ago. However, the decision feels abrupt all things considered.

Joe Gibbs Racing makes shocking change for Denny Hamlin

When a major change like this happens usually it is a team decision. Drivers and crew chiefs come and go sometimes. Not everyone can have their own Dale Inman or Chad Knaus.

However, it is clear that this decision did not include the driver. Denny Hamlin was not consulted before this hiring and crew chief swap was decided upon. Here is what Hamlin said about the situation today.

“I got called into another 6:00 meeting. I’m never going to JGR at 6:00 ever again. All those meetings are bad,” Hamlin told Claire B Lang on Friday, via motorsports reporter Alan Cavanna.

This came as a shock for Hamlin, but he understands why it was made. Still, that doesn’t help him much.

“It does [come as a surprise], but again, they’ve gotta do what’s best for the company. And I think that they’re looking for an improvement on performance from the 54,” Hamlin said. “And they’re looking for an overall performance for all the teams. Because we certainly haven’t won the amount of races as an organization as we should.”