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Denny Hamlin and Chris Gabehart are splitting up! Joe Gibbs Racing announced a few changes to the organization for next season, starting with on top of the pit box. Chris Gayle will move from the No. 54 team to the No. 11 team, while Chris Gabehart will move to the role of Competition Director. There was no announcement on who the crew chief for Ty Gibbs will be, but one is expected at a later date. After six seasons, one of the sport’s most successful crew chief/driver pairings is splitting up, and a rising star will have a new voice on top of the box.
Gabehart was the crew chief for Denny Hamlin from 2019-2024. After a 2018 season that saw Hamlin go winless, he and Gabehart turned into one of the sport’s most dynamic duos. They won 38 races in six seasons and finished top-five in points in five straight seasons. The duo made six straight Round of 8s, including three Championship 4’s from 2019-2021. Now Hamlin will be paired with Chris Gayle, who’s just wrapped up his second season with Ty Gibbs. While they didn’t win together, they won Rookie of the Year in 2023 and made the playoffs for the first time this season. Gayle has two Cup wins under his belt, both with Erik Jones from 2018-2019.
We have a lot of pride in the depth of talent we have throughout our organization. Chris Gabehart will now be an asset across all four of our teams as competition director and we thought it was important to have him transition into his new role immediately. Chris Gayle will bring his own perspective to the 11 team while also maintaining the consistency and continuity they have developed with Denny (Hamlin) over the past several years. While we are still in the process of finalizing the new crew chief for the 54 team, we believe all these moves ultimately make our team stronger as we prepare for 2025.
Joe Gibbs
JGR is entering a year of changes in 2025. With Martin Truex Jr. retiring and Chase Briscoe taking over the No. 19, this adds another new element to what should be an interesting season for the organization. They failed to make the Championship 4 for the first time but look to get back to the title hunt with some sweeping changes for this year and beyond.
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