Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs will both be working with new crew chiefs in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season with Joe Gibbs Racing making a series of competition moves on Friday.
Chris Gabehart, who had worked with Hamlin on the No. 11 team for the last six seasons, has been named competition director for the entire organization. They won 22 races, including two Daytona 500s. They also reached the final four three times together.
“I am very thankful for the opportunities that Joe Gibbs Racing has continued to provide me for my entire tenure here and cannot say enough about how much I have enjoyed and appreciated my time with Denny and the entire 11 team,” Gabehart said. “They have all taught me so much about not only how to race at the top of the NASCAR Cup Series but also how to lead a great group of talented professionals. In my next opportunity, I am as excited as I have ever been to work with all our talented drivers, crew chiefs, teams, and partners to help focus all our efforts toward making 2025 one of the best seasons Joe Gibbs Racing has ever had.”
Chris Gayle will be Hamlin’s crew chief. Gayle had been on the No. 54 team over the past two years.
“Denny is obviously a first-ballot Hall of Famer,” said Gayle. “I’m looking forward to working with him and the guys on the No. 11 team. He and Gabehart have established an incredible culture that is a very good barometer for our other drivers and teams to strive to match. I have all the confidence in the world we can hit the ground running and continue the success that this group is accustomed to in 2025.”
Gayle guided the Joe Gibbs Racing Xfinity Series program to 10 victories with four different drivers in 2021. He and Gibbs won the championship in 2022 before entering the Cup Series together in 2023. They made the playoffs in the Cup Series for the first time in 2024 and finished 15th in the standings.
The next crew chief for Gibbs and the 54 team was not announced.
“We have a lot of pride in the depth of talent we have throughout our organization,” said Joe Gibbs. “Chris Gabehart will now be an asset across all four of our teams as competition director and we thought it was important to have him transition into his new role immediately. Chris Gayle will bring his own perspective to the 11 team while also maintaining the consistency and continuity they have developed with Denny over the past several years.”