NASCAR insider calls out Ty Gibbs after Denny Hamlin incident, points to larger JGR and No. 54 issues

The big story coming out of Sunday’s Round of 12 opener at New Hampshire Motor Speedway was the on-track dust-up between Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs. Gibbs — a non-playoff driver — battled Hamlin — a playoff driver — for 11th position in Stage 2.

Gibbs did not make it easy on Hamlin, who made contact with him on Lap 111, sending his teammate into the wall. Hamlin claimed he did not dump Gibbs intentionally. In the short-term, Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic does not believe this will carry over to this Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway. From a bigger perspective, Bianchi has some questions about Gibbs’ maturity.

“I don’t think it’s something that lingers because I think you nip this in the bud, and I don’t think Ty Gibbs is gonna go out and look for retribution these next few weeks. But I think when you step back and look at it from a 30,000-foot perspective, this is emblematic of the issues in Joe Gibbs Racing and particularly, the issues with the 54 team and its driver,” Bianchi said on The Teardown podcast. “There have been instances — and you can go back to the Xfinity Series race a few years ago at Martinsville — where Ty Gibbs has put himself before the team. He crashes his teammate Brandon Jones to win that race when he didn’t need to do it and if Jones wins that race, he’s racing for a championship.

“In this instance, I get it. You’re racing hard but it’s 11th, 12th, 15th-place, whatever it is and in the grand scheme of things, that one or two spots means nothing to Ty Gibbs. In the grand scheme of things, those spots mean everything to Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin. It’s stepping back and saying, ‘I’m going to put the organization first and foremost, especially when I’m not in the playoffs.’ I’m not sitting here and saying you have to roll over for your teammates and you can’t race them hard to a certain level… but in this instance, there’s no good in this.”

Denny Hamlin frustrated with Ty Gibbs after New Hampshire

Ty Gibbs is only 22 and the grandson of the boss, Joe Gibbs. He is full of talent, yes, but issues like this have followed him throughout his time in NASCAR.

You can guarantee there have already been discussions at JGR’s shop about how to handle this moving forward. Joe Gibbs said he wants the drivers to take care of it; Hamlin would prefer if JGR leadership stepped in and handled it.

Ultimately, that’s for both Gibbs and Hamlin, as well as JGR to decide. Bianchi believes there’s some issues with Gibbs as a driver that need to be addressed.

“It wasn’t like it just happened in the blink of an eye. If you had been watching this or listening to the radio, there had been frustration brewing on the 11 team of how this was unfolding. It should have been nipped in the bud there,” Bianchi said. “To me, this speaks to the greater issues of the driver of the 54 car about maturity, and it’s been a big thing and a big word about him and his growth as a driver and the steps he needs to do to become a better, more well-rounded race car driver.

“To me, this is an instance where if you’re going to be that driver, the leader of a team that can carry this organization forward for the next 20 years, which is what Gibbs wants him to be, then you need to look at the bigger picture and step back and say, ‘These guys are racing for a championship, we’re in Stage 1 or whatever, it was early in the race. We don’t need to be doing this, I’m gonna let these guys go and be smart about it.’ … Do I think this is a problem going forward? No, not necessarily in the short-term. But I think big picture, this is something that needs to be addressed and frankly, should have been addressed a long time ago.”