“That is what our fans want”: Joe Gibbs voices fanbase’s sentiments as he gets candid about NASCAR’s current state

Joe Gibbs Racing team owner Joe Gibbs was recently featured in an interview with former Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick on his "Happy Hour" podcast on YouTube. During the interaction, the JGR team owner talked about his team's fan base's sentiment while addressing the current state of NASCAR.

The organization debuted in the Cup Series at the 1992 Daytona 500, and has since, achieved multiple victories. The team has secured 221 wins, 958 top-five finishes, and 1574 top-ten finishes in 3242 starts. Additionally, JGR has secured seven wins this season—three by Denny Hamlin, followed by another three wins by Christopher Bell, and one by Chase Briscoe.

Reflecting on the same, Joe Gibbs pointed out that fans want them to have the best driver out there every weekend. He further explained:

"We went Gen 7, so that is definitely a different wrinkle. Yes, but to me, I think our sport here here's what I think about our sport I hope that we'll continue with the idea of being we want to reward the best team and the best driver every single weekend That is what our fans want They want to see they know how hard it is and they want to see somebody for the weekend challenge us So anything that kind of holds us back on any of that I'm you know I'm hoping that we stay focused on because it is we all in pro sports look at something." [29:09]

Joe Gibbs Racing has a four-driver team in the Cup Series, including Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, and Ty Gibbs. With 18 races in the 2025 season done and dusted, Hamlin, Bell, and Briscoe have landed their spots in the playoffs, with only Gibbs yet to qualify.

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The former crew chief of Joe Gibbs Racing's oldest driver stepped into the pit box for Ty Gibbs

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin's former crew chief, Chris Gabehart, stepped into the pits for the Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway on July 29, 2025. Gabehart took the role to help Gibbs land a playoff spot like his teammates.

Gibbs had a decent start from P16 for the 400.4-mile race and had a best time of 31.30 seconds with a top speed of 177.14 mph. Following that, the JGR driver struggled in stage one but paved his way to P11, finishing two spots behind Brad Keselowski.

Ty Gibbs wrapped up the race in 14th place on the grid and still has to secure his playoff spot. Reflecting on the same, JGR's competition director, Chris Gabehart, told NBC:

“Let’s call it unorthodox for this garage. But the reality is that once (Joe Gibbs Racing) got three cars in the playoffs, when you look at it simply, we’ve got one left we’re trying to get in.”

Ty Gibbs ranks 24th in the Cup Series points table with 342 points to his name. Additionally, he has three top-ten and two top-five finishes in 18 starts this season.