Denny Hamlin’s former crew chief pens down “not without love” note after Michigan

Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin clinched his 57th career victory at Michigan International Speedway in a fuel-mileage thriller. The win marked his third with new crew chief Chris Gayle, after which his former crew chief, Chris Gabehart, shared belated praise for the #11 JGR team.

Gabehart had led the #11 JGR team since 2019, before transitioning to the role of the organization's competition director. The move, which was announced after the 2024 season, took Hamlin by surprise. During their time together, the duo earned 22 victories, including two Daytona 500 wins.

Hamlin made a late race charge to secure his third win of the season. Gabehart showed appreciation for his former team after capping off a successful weekend at Michigan. He hailed the #11 team's execution, as the pit crew prevented a blunder, while the crew chief executed an effective strategy.

"I'm late... but not without love! 🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁 @dennyhamlin , @JoeGibbsRacing , and all of my @ToyotaRacing teammates got it done in a big way at Michigan. That win took a little bit of everything! Very proud of everyone's execution and hard work. And now... we 🇲🇽" he wrote on X.

Chris Gabehart

@CG1751

LINK

I'm late... but not without love!

🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁

@dennyhamlin, @JoeGibbsRacing, and all of my @ToyotaRacing teammates got it done in a big way at Michigan. That win took a little bit of everything! Very proud of everyone's execution and hard work.

And now... we 🇲🇽

Chase Briscoe clinched the pole position on the third consecutive occasion but failed to convert it into a strong result, finishing 23rd. Ty Gibbs secured a third-place finish but was left frustrated with the fuel-saving strategy, which held him back. Christopher Bell had a quiet weekend, finishing 16th.

Denny Hamlin moved up to third in the regular season standings, while Bell slipped one spot down to fourth. Briscoe has a 41-point cushion to the cutline, while Gibbs is 52 points below the cutline, after a rough start to his 2025 campaign.

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Denny Hamlin recalls Chris Gabehart's optimism for the Michigan race

Denny Hamlin reflected on the team debrief before the Michigan race, where Chris Gabehart predicted a victory for the #11 team. Gabehart and Hamlin came close to winning at the track during their time together, but they failed to seal the deal. The former crew chief jokingly remarked that the #11 JGR team would finally get it done, now that he was no longer atop the pit box.

"I've been really close here in the past. Gabehart said yesterday after our debrief, You're going to win tomorrow, I know it, of course, because I never got to win with you here, so of course you're going to win now that I'm not here. He knew it was coming. I knew it was coming," Hamlin said in the press conference (via SpeedwayDigest.com)

"It feels really good and certainly gives you confidence going into racetracks where I know realistically I'm aiming for good days."

Moving on from Michigan, Denny Hamlin was quite honest about his expectations for the inaugural Cup race in Mexico City, aiming for a good outing. Hamlin has a single top-10 finish in 16 road course starts in the Next Gen era.

Hamlin might miss the Mexico City race, as he is on baby watch. Ryan Truex is on standby to drive the #11 Toyota if the veteran driver doesn't make it to Mexico City.