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Joe Gibbs Racing made interesting moves that drew different reactions. Namely, JGR decided to promote Chris Gabehart from the pit box to the position of competition director.
Denny Hamlin, the star of NASCAR, and the man left without a championship this year, is now left without a crew chief who was probably the key to his success in previous years.
Gabehart has a difficult task ahead of him, given that he will have to adapt to new conditions and a new job.
Appearing on SiriusXM Nascar Radio, Gabehart decided to talk about his conversation with Denny Hamlin.
Hamlin and Gabehart worked together for years, had great chemistry, and at the same time a great relationship. They worked together on 11 cars in the last few years. This is one of the reasons why Chris admits that it was difficult to have a conversation with Hamlin, considering that JGR gave them a great chance at a career that they took advantage of. In the words of Gabehart, you can feel the respect he has for the team, considering that JGR is a team with a special culture. Within the team, you can feel togetherness and cohesion.
“Well, there’s no easy way for that to be approached, and you know, that’s a testament to our relationship and what we had helped build together on the 11 car over the last six years. You have to realize that for me that’s not just a conversation with Denny because Denny and I without this team would just be two guys out on a walk and we wouldn’t win anything,” Gabehart said, as quoted by On3.
“It’s the culture that we’ve built inside the entire team. Car chiefs, engineers, mechanics, truck drivers, pit crew, I mean, we really became a very tight-knit group that leaned on each other a lot.”
It wasn't easy to tell the experienced NASCAR driver that after so many years of cooperation, it was time to say goodbye. However, it isn't only difficult for Hamlin. Gabehart has also been doing the same job for years, so it will be challenging to get used to his new role in the team. Gabehart admitted that he and Hamin had a difficult conversation.
Gabehart admitted that he understands Hamlin's dissatisfaction, but also that it's clearly time for a new chapter in his career. It will be interesting to see how Gabehart will handle himself in such a role.
The experienced Gabehart revealed that they had a long conversation, but they knew even earlier that the moment would come when he would devote himself to other things, stressing that he is someone who wants to contribute much more to the team. Having such conversations is not easy at all, but Gabehart believes that Hamlin is a professional who knows how to accept such decisions.
JGR is making moves, they want to achieve dominance and great success in the coming years. Whether they will succeed in this is not easy to answer, but the most important thing is that they have the desire, passion, and hunger for victory. It must also be admitted that they have great individuals within the team, who can really make a big difference.
Denny Hamlin reacts
Denny Hamlin said in an interview with the media that he was shocked to hear about such a decision. The popular NASCAR driver realized that it was necessary to accept such decisions and devote himself to his career. Denny Hamlin stresses that he understands the moves of the JGR leaders, considering that their intentions are for JGR to progress and become an even more respectable team in the future. This season did not quite bring what they expected, but Denny hopes that the next season can be a completely different story.
“I certainly was shocked. That’s all I’ll say.
The first few days was a shock, but I’m moving on. There’s nothing I can do to change anything that happened, and JGR is doing what they feel is best for them and I totally understand that. And if all of our program gets better, the 11 car’s gonna run better as well, right? And I think that all of us, all the teams, knew that we needed to have better results than what we had at the end of the year. They feel like this is the change they need to [make] to get that and that the 11 team will benefit from those changes.”- Denny Hamlin said.
JGR wants to be at the very top from the next season, and potentially fight to win the championship. A team like them has potential, but it will be important for them to show it on the NASCAR tracks.
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