“The champion is coming from this room”: Chris Gabehart has a powerful message for Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, & Chase Briscoe

NASCAR: M&Ms Fan Appreciation 400 - Source: Imagn
Chris Gabehart shared a powerful message for Denny Hamlin and his teammates- Source: Imagn

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin's former crew chief, Chris Gabehart, recently shared a powerful message with the team's drivers. It came after the NASCAR Cup Series team dominated all three races of the first phase of the playoffs, the Round of 16.

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The #19 Toyota Camry XSE driver, Chase Briscoe, began the winning streak for the team, clinching his second win of the season at Darlington Raceway. Then, NASCAR veteran Denny Hamlin won the Enjoy Illinois 300 at Gateway, marking his fifth triumph of the 2025 season before Christopher Bell parked his #20 JGR Toyota in the victory lane at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Bass Pro Shops Night race.

Joe Gibbs Racing overpowered the Round of 16, and all three playoff-qualified drivers locked in their spots for the upcoming Round of 12. Also, Toyota cars have been smoking Chevy and Ford this season. Reflecting on the team's success so far, Chris Gabehart shared a powerful message hyping the team's morale.

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"I do think the champion is coming from this room. I have no idea what door number it's going to be. I genuinely don't. I think it could be any one of these three door numbers. Be ready for your moment. You could be the difference in that. Never does it say we can't win every race. We've won the first three playoff races. there's seven to go; let's win them all," he said.
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Denny Hamlin leads the Cup Series playoff points table with a 26-point buffer above the cutoff line. Followed by Christopher Bell in fourth place with a 20-point buffer, and the #19 Camry XSE driver Chase Briscoe ranks in sixth place with a 10-point buffer.


“I couldn’t believe he had the balls”: Denny Hamlin opened up about the Bell and Keselowski incident at Bristol

NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin shared his take on the last-minute incident between his teammate, Christopher Bell, and Brad Keselowski at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Bass Pro Shops Night Race was held on Saturday, September 13, 2025, and Bell took home his 13th career win.

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The #20 Toyota Camry XSE driver began the race from P9. Meanwhile, the RFK Racing driver secured 18th place in the qualifying session for the main 500-lap event. Despite having a mid-pack start, Keselowski led 33 laps in the race and held the lead until the last restart.

Later, with four laps to go in the 500-lap race, Christopher Bell headed towards the lead, and Keselowski pulled a classic old-school move on him in the closing laps of the race. The RFK driver bumped into Bell from the rear, but instead of spinning him out, he gave him a straight bump, ultimately crossing the finish line 0.343 seconds ahead of him.

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Reflecting on the incident, Denny Hamlin expressed his views [00:05]:

"I thought as hard as Brad hit him, I mean, I thought he wrecked him. I could not believe he had the balls to hit him that hard. Bell missed turns one and two; that's what allowed him to even get close. That just tells you the advantage that leaders got. When second place hits you that hard and it doesn't even move your car hardly, yikes."

The first race of the Round of 12, the Mobil 1 301, is scheduled at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday, September 21, 2025, at 2 p.m. ET. Additionally, Denny Hamlin will compete in the event with two of his crew members suspended after the Bristol penalty.

Get the latest NASCAR All-Star race news, Xfinity Series updates, breaking news, rumors, and today’s top stories with the latest news on NASCAR.

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Edited by Samya Majumdar
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