Chris Gabehart sounds the alarm on JGR after Team Penske’s “completely untouchable” New Hampshire dominance

JGR’s Director of Competition Chris Gabehart noted the biggest takeaway from Sunday’s (September 21) playoff race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Named Mobil 1 302, the 301-lap event marked the opening event of the second round of the 2025 playoffs.

Two of the three Penske cars finished inside the top five, whereas none of the JGR drivers made it beyond that mark. To Gabehart, it was an absolute overkill by the Penske duo and former Cup Series champions Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney, who won the race.

Speaking with journalist Matt Weaver during a post-race interview, Gabehart said (1:40):

“The biggest thing you gotta take away from today is, with this aero-package, with the same tires as Phoenix at a one-mile racetrack, the Penske cars were completely untouchable again.”

“I know what it's like to be untouchable; we've been fortunate enough to be on the right side of that, but the reality is we got a lot of work to do with this package, and that's the focus. We gotta get better,” he added.

Joe Gibbs Racing dominated the first round of the playoffs, with Chase Briscoe winning at Darlington, Denny Hamlin at World Wide Technology Raceway, and Christopher Bell bagging the checkered flag at Bristol Motor Speedway.

In New Hampshire, Christopher Bell, the No. 20 Toyota Camry driver from the JGR camp, was the highest-finishing driver. Briscoe finished the race 10th, while Hamlin ended 12th in a 36-car field.

Denny Hamlin reflects on the bitter on-track feud with his JGR teammate at New Hampshire

Tempers flared between JGR teammates Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs on Lap 111 of the NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. It all happened following 10 laps of hard racing for 11th between Hamlin, Gibbs, and Christopher Bell.

Hamlin and Gibbs tangled several times before the contact, but a broken toe link ultimately ousted the latter from contention. Hamlin wasn’t sure why Gibbs was being so aggressive. Gibbs is not a playoff-eligible driver, whereas Hamlin and Bell are.

“That was like the fourth or fifth time we made contact, but eventually he got spun. I made a mistake in (Turn) 1 but I would have made a mistake with anybody in that position,” Hamlin explained. “I was trying to get by him and that was a task in itself.”

“I’ll let leadership kind of quarterback however the would like to but obviously, the 11, 20 and 19, we’re all trying to win a championship for their family. It’s unfortunate why we’re racing the way we were,” he added.

Next up for the JGR drivers is the Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by ESPN Bet at Kansas Speedway. Scheduled for September 28, the 267-lap event will be televised on USA (3 p.m. ET) with live radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.