Tag: Chris Gabehart

  • Joe Gibbs Racing shifts half of Cup Series crew chief lineup in 2025

    Joe Gibbs Racing shifts half of Cup Series crew chief lineup in 2025

    Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) announced a new role and new team for crew chiefs Chris Gabehart and Chris Gayle, respectively, for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season.

    For the upcoming season, Gabehart will be assuming the role as JGR’s Competition Director while Gayle will shift from JGR’s No. 54 Toyota Camry XSE team to the No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE team, where he will be paired with veteran driver Denny Hamlin.

    The news comes as both Gabehart and Gayle are coming off their respective roles as crew chiefs for the Nos. 11 and 54 JGR Toyota teams, the latter of which is piloted by driver Ty Gibbs, in the Cup Series.

    “We have a lot of pride in the depth of talent we have throughout our organization,” Joe Gibbs, owner and founder of Joe Gibbs Racing, said. “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 [Hamlin] over the past several years. While we are still in the process of finalizing the new crew chief for the 54 team, we believe all these moves ultimately make our team stronger as we prepare for 2025.”

    Gabehart, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, who graduated from Purdue University with a mechanical engineering degree, made his crew chief debut in the Xfinity Series in 2016, where he was paired with Erik Jones at JGR. The following season, he made his Cup Series crew chief debut on an interim role with Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 Toyota team at Richmond Raceway, where Hamlin finished fifth.

    After accumulating a total of nine Xfinity victories between 2016 to 2018, Gabehart was promoted to the Cup Series to serve as a full-time crew chief for Hamlin and the No. 11 team in 2019. Commencing his Cup crew chief career with his first career victory in the 61st running of the Daytona 500, Gabehart and Hamlin would accumulate a total of 22 victories through 209 events (2019-24). In addition to making the Playoffs throughout their six-year journey, they also made the Championship 4 round from 2019 to 2021, where they finished as high as third place in the final standings during the latter season.

    Through 209 appearances as a Cup Series crew chief, Gabehart has also recorded 11 poles, 90 top-five results and 120 top-10 results, all while working atop the No. 11 JGR Toyota pit box and paired with Hamlin as he prepares to etch a new chapter with his new role in 2025.

    “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 towards making 2025 one of the best seasons Joe Gibbs Racing has ever had.”

    Meanwhile, Gayle, a native of Little Rock Arkansas, and a graduate from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a Mechanical Engineering degree, made his crew chief debut in 2013, where he was paired with Elliott Sadler at JGR in the Xfinity Series. During the season, he made his Cup crew chief debut with Sadler at Kansas Speedway, where Sadler finished 40th.

    Four years later, Gayle became a full-time crew chief in the Cup Series for the first time, where he was paired with Erik Jones at Furniture Row Racing. After notching the 2017 Rookie-of-the-Year title, both Gayle and Jones moved back to Joe Gibbs Racing and notched their first Cup career victory at Daytona International Speedway in July. Gayle would continue to work with Jones over the next two seasons, where they won the 2019 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, before he transitioned back down to the Xfinity Series during his next two years.

    After capturing the 2022 Xfinity Series championship with Ty Gibbs, Gayle moved back up to the Cup Series and continued to work with Gibbs as his crew chief in 2023, where Gibbs captured the Rookie-of-the-Year title while piloting the No. 54 JGR Toyota entry. This past season, they qualified for the 2024 Playoffs and finished in 15th place in the final standings on the strengths of two poles, eight top-five results and 12 top-10 results.

    Photo by Tim Jarrold for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    Through 214 appearances as a Cup Series crew chief, Gayle has achieved a total of two victories, four poles, 43 top-five results and 81 top-10 results while working with three competitors as he now strives to pick up the torch and maintain the momentum carried forth by the No. 11 team and his new driver Denny Hamlin. Ironically, Gayle is set to become Hamlin’s fifth full-time crew chief overall as Hamlin enters his 20th consecutive season as a full-time Cup Series competitor, all with JGR, in 2025.

    “Denny is obviously a first-ballot Hall of Famer,” Gayle added. “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.”

    A crew chief replacement for Ty Gibbs and the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team remains to be determined.

    The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season for Joe Gibbs Racing is set to commence with the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on February 2 that will commence at 8 p.m. ET on FOX. This event will be followed by the 67th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway that will air at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Chris Gabehart to call 150th Cup event as crew chief at Darlington

    Chris Gabehart to call 150th Cup event as crew chief at Darlington

    A significant milestone start is in the making for Chris Gabehart, crew chief for Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota TRD Camry team in the NASCAR Cup Series. By participating in this weekend’s Cup throwback event at Darlington Raceway for the Goodyear 400, Gabehart will call his 150th event as crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Lafayette, Indiana, and a graduate of Purdue University with a degree in mechanical engineering, Gabehart’s career path to NASCAR began when he competed in go-karts at age 10 in the World Karting Association. He eventually moved up to late models and the ARCA Series before retiring in 2007 due to sponsorship and financial issues. Not long after, he became an engineer for Kyle Busch Motorsports’ late model and Truck Series program before teaming up with Joe Gibbs Racing as an engineer in both the Xfinity and Cup circuits. From 2016 to 2018, Gabehart became a crew chief for JGR in the Xfinity circuit, where he accumulated a total of nine victories with names that included Erik Jones, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Preece.

    In 2017, Gabehart made his inaugural presence as a Cup Series crew chief for Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 JGR Toyota Camry team at Richmond Raceway in September. Gabehart’s role as a crew chief was an interim role for a one-race basis after Mike Wheeler, Hamlin’s full-time crew chief, was serving a two-race suspension due to illegal suspensions that were found on Hamlin’s race-winning car during the previous weekend at Darlington Raceway. With Gabehart atop the pit box of the No. 11 team at Richmond, Hamlin ended up in fifth place despite being involved in a last lap incident involving Martin Truex Jr.

    In 2019, Gabehart was named a full-time crew chief for Hamlin and the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry team for the full Cup Series season. The new duo commenced the season on a high note by winning the 61st running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in February. The victory, which was the second 500 win for Hamlin and snapped his 47-race winless drought, served as a memorable one for the driver, crew chief and the JGR organization with the team mourning the loss of the team’s president and son of owner Joe Gibbs, J.D. Gibbs. Six races later, Gabehart and Hamlin achieved their second victory of the season at Texas Motor Speedway in March. They went on to win at Pocono Raceway in July and Bristol Motor Speedway in August before the 2019 Cup Playoffs commenced. With victories at Kansas Speedway in October and Phoenix Raceway in November, Gabehart and Hamlin managed to transfer all the way from the Round of 16 to the Championship 4 round at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November and compete for the series title. During the finale, however, Hamlin made a late unscheduled pit stop to fix an overheating issue to his car and ended up in 10th place on the track and in fourth place in the final championship standings. Overall, Gabehart achieved six victories, three poles, a career-best 19 top-five results, 24 top-10 results, 922 laps led and an average-finishing result of 9.5 in his first full-time Cup season with Hamlin.

    Remaining as Hamlin’s crew chief for the 2020 Cup season, the duo commenced the season on a high note by winning the 62nd running of the Daytona 500, where Hamlin dodged a harrowing final lap wreck involving Ryan Newman to edge Ryan Blaney in a photo finish to repeat as a champion in the Great American Race. Their second victory of the season occurred five races later after Hamlin won a rain-shortened event at Darlington Raceway in May. Two races later at Charlotte Motor Speedway, however, Gabehart was suspended for the following four races due to ballast that fell out of Hamlin’s car prior to the start of the Coca-Cola 600. When Gabehart returned atop the pit box at Homestead in June, Hamlin ended up winning the event after leading a race-high 137 of 267 laps. The duo went on to win at Pocono in June, Kansas in July and Dover in August before making their second consecutive trip to the Playoffs. After finishing in the top 10 three times through nine Playoff events, including claiming a wild victory at Talladega Superspeedway in October, Gabehart and Hamlin managed to accumulate enough points and strong results to transfer all the way from the Round of 16 to the Championship 4 finale for a second consecutive time. During the finale, however, Hamlin ended up as the fourth highest-finishing competitor of the final four finalists both on the track and in the final standings for a second consecutive season. Despite being absent for four events, Gabehart managed to accumulate seven victories, 16 top-five results and 19 top-10 results with Hamlin and the No. 11 JGR team.

    At the start of the 2021 Cup season, Gabehart and Hamlin fell short in their bid to win a third consecutive Daytona 500 as Hamlin settled in fifth place in the final running order. Despite going winless in the regular-season stretch, the No. 11 team accumulated 13 top-five results and 17 top-10 results in 26 races, which were enough for them to make the 2021 Cup Playoffs. At the start of the Playoffs, they achieved their first elusive win of the season at Darlington Raceway in September and a one-way ticket from the Round of 16 to 12 after Hamlin fended off a last lap challenge from Kyle Larson. Three races later, Gabehart and Hamlin clinched a spot for the Round of 8 after winning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in September. Despite finishing no higher than fifth during the Round of 8, they transferred to the Championship 4 finale. Given a third consecutive opportunity to contend for the title, Gabehart and Hamlin fell short in their third bid after finishing in third place both during the finale at Phoenix and in the final standings. With two victories achieved throughout the 2021 Cup season, Gabehart accumulated a total of 19 top-five results, a career-high 25 top-10 results, a career-high 1,502 laps led and an average-finishing result of 8.4 in his third season as a Cup crew chief with Hamlin. By then, Gabehart surpassed 100 Cup events called as a crew chief.

    This past season, Gabehart and Hamlin rallied from finishing no higher than 13th during the first six scheduled events by achieving their first victory of the season at Richmond in April. Then in early May, Gabehart was issued a second four-race suspension from NASCAR for a loose wheel that came off of Hamlin’s car at Dover in late April. While JGR attempted to appeal the penalty, the penalty was denied by mid-May and Gabehart was suspended for four events that included the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in May, the inaugural Cup event at World Wild Technology Raceway, Sonoma Raceway and Nashville Superspeedway in June. Amid Gabehart’s absence, Hamlin won the Coke 600 with engineer and interim crew chief Sam McAulay before finishing no higher than sixth during his following three starts. Upon returning at Road America in July, Gabehart and Hamlin finished in the top 10 three times during the final nine regular-season events on the schedule before the 2022 Cup Playoffs commenced. Despite finishing no lower than 13th throughout the Playoffs, the duo missed the cutline to the Championship 4 finale by a mere margin after Hamlin was overtaken by a bold move by title rival Ross Chastain on the final lap at Martinsville in November. With an eighth-place result in the finale, Gabehart and Hamlin concluded the season in fifth place in the final standings.

    Through 149 previous Cup events, Gabehart has achieved 17 victories, five poles, 67 top-five results, 88 top-10 results and 4,064 laps led, all while working with Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team. The duo is coming off their first victory of the season at Kansas Speedway. To go along with a pole, three top-five results and five top-10 results through the first 12-scheduled events, they are tied with teammate Truex and the No. 19 JGR team for third place in the driver’s standings.

    Gabehart is scheduled to call his 150th Cup Series event as a crew chief at Darlington Raceway for the Goodyear 400 on Sunday, May 14. The event’s broadcast time is scheduled to commence at 3 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Erik Jones to make 150th Cup start at Homestead

    Erik Jones to make 150th Cup start at Homestead

    Entering a new season of racing and joining forces with a new team, Erik Jones is set to achieve a significant start in his fifth full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s event at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the driver of the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE will reach 150 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Byron, Michigan, Jones made his unofficial Cup Series debut at Bristol Motor Speedway in April 2015. Following an early rain delay, Jones relieved Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry when Hamlin relinquished his seat due to neck spasms. Dropping to the rear of the field, Jones finished in 26th place, though Hamlin was credited for the result since he started the race.

    A month later, Jones made his official Cup Series debut at Kansas Speedway when he piloted the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry in place of Kyle Busch, who was recovering from injuries sustained following a harrowing late-race accident from the Xfinity Series’ season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway. 

    During the event at Kansas, Jones was competitive as he led a single lap and ran upfront against the sport’s elite. His race, however, came to an end with 72 laps remaining when he got loose entering Turn 4 and made contact with the outside wall while running in the top five. Limping back to pit road and the garage with damage, Jones settled in 40th place in his series’ debut.

    In November, Jones competed in two of the final three Cup Series races of the season when he took over the No. 20 Toyota Camry for JGR, replacing Matt Kenseth, who was serving a two-race suspension after intentionally wrecking Joey Logano at Martinsville Speedway at the start of the month. At Texas Motor Speedway, Jones recorded a strong 12th-place result. He went on to finish 19th the following race at Phoenix Raceway.

    Following the 2016 season, where he finished in fourth place in the final NASCAR Xfinity Series standings with four victories and the series’ Rookie-of-the-Year title, Jones graduated to the Cup Series the following season. For the 2017 season, he joined Furniture Row Racing to drive the No. 77 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry with support from crew chief Chris Gabehart.

    Jones’ rookie season in the Cup Series, however, started off on a low note when he was involved in a multi-car wreck past the midway portion of the Daytona 500. He rallied three races later by achieving his first top-10 career finish in the Cup circuit at Phoenix Raceway.

    Through the first half of the 2017 Cup season, Jones recorded five top-10 results, including a career-best third-place result at Pocono Raceway in June and was in 14th place in the regular-season standings.

    Five races later, Jones recorded another third-place result at Michigan International Speedway, his home track. The following race at Bristol Motor Speedway, he achieved his first Cup career pole position. During the main event, he led a race-high 260 laps before settling in a career-best runner-up result behind Kyle Busch.

    Though he finished fifth and sixth in the following two races, Jones fell short in making the 2017 Cup Playoffs. Nonetheless, he went on to post three top-10 results throughout the 10-race Playoffs and concluded his rookie season in 19th place in the final standings. When all was said and done, Jones claimed the 2017 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title over names like Daniel Suarez and Ty Dillon. In doing so, he became the first competitor to achieve the Rookie-of-the-Year title across NASCAR’s top three national touring series (Cup, Xfinity and Truck).

    In 2018, Jones returned to Joe Gibbs Racing and replaced Matt Kenseth as driver of the No. 20 Toyota Camry with continuous support from Chris Gabehart.

    Like his rookie season, however, Jones was involved in a multi-car accident during the Daytona 500. Finishing in 36th place with a DNF, he rebounded by finishing in the top 10 in four of the following six events.

    Through the first 17 events of the 2018 Cup season, Jones and JGR’s No. 20 team achieved seven top-10 results, a best on-track result of fourth place at Texas Motor Speedway in April and were in 14th place in the regular-season standings.

    The following race at Daytona International Speedway, Jones rallied from being involved in a multi-car wreck near the midway point to overtake ex-teammate Martin Truex Jr. on the final lap and score his maiden Cup victory in his 57th series start. In becoming the ninth different competitor to win a Cup race for JGR, Jones secured his spot to the 2018 Cup Playoffs. 

    Following his victory at Daytona, Jones went on to finish in the top 10 in six of the remaining eight regular-season events, including a runner-up result at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in September. 

    During the first round of the Playoffs, Jones achieved results of 40th, 11th and 30th, which were enough to eliminate him from title contention along with names like Jimmie Johnson, Austin Dillon and teammate Denny Hamlin. He went on to finish in the top 10 in four of the remaining seven Playoff races before concluding his sophomore Cup season in a career-best 15th place in the standings. He also earned nine top-five results and a career-high 18 top-10 results.

    Remaining at JGR, Jones kickstarted the 2019 season on a strong note by finishing in third place in the Daytona 500 while being a part of a JGR 1-2-3 finish with race winner Denny Hamlin and runner-up Kyle Busch.

    Through the first 24 events of the 2019 Cup season, Jones achieved 12 top-10 results, a best result of second place at Pocono in and was in 14th place in the regular-season standings.

    For the following race at Darlington Raceway, where he made his 100th Cup career start, Jones held off a late challenge from teammate Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson to claim his first elusive Cup victory of the season and second of his career. The Southern 500 victory was enough for him to race his way into the Playoffs for a second consecutive season.

    Though he entered the 2019 Cup Playoffs with late momentum, Jones’ title run came to an early end following the first round of the Playoffs, where he recorded results of 36th, 38th and 40th. For his 38th-place result, it occurred at Richmond in September, where initially, he finished in fourth place until he was disqualified due to his car failing post-race inspection.

    Following his early exit from title contention, Jones went on to finish in the top 10 in three of the final seven races of the season, including a third-place result in the season-finale event at Homestead, before concluding the season in 16th place in the final standings. While he achieved one victory throughout the entire season, he also achieved a career-high 10 top-five results.

    Jones opened the 2020 Cup Series season on a high, bizarre note by winning the non-points Busch Clash at Daytona with a wrecked race car after being involved in three late-race multi-car wrecks but continuing and receiving a late draft from teammate Denny Hamlin, who was a lap behind, to storm away from a downsized field during an overtime restart.

    Compared to his previous two Cup seasons, Jones did not record a single victory throughout the 2020 season. He also did not make the Playoffs as he only achieved nine top-five results, a season-best result of second place at Talladega Superspeedway in October, 13 top-10 results and a final points result of 17th place.

    Three months prior to the conclusion of the 2020 season, JGR announced that Jones will not be returning to the organization and that Christopher Bell will be replacing him as driver of the No. 20 Toyota. Two months later, nonetheless, Jones was able to secure a ride with Richard Petty Motorsports and pilot the iconic No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, replacing Bubba Wallace, for the new season. 

    Jones commenced his first run with Richard Petty Motorsports on a low note after being involved in an early multi-car pileup and eliminated from contention. He is coming off a 14th-place result from the Daytona International Speedway Road Course.

    Through 149 previous starts in the Cup Series, Jones has achieved two career wins and two poles along with 33 top-five results, 62 top-10 results, 647 laps led and an average result of 16.1.

    Catch Jones’ 150th Cup career start at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, February 28, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Joe Gibbs Racing announces 2021 crew chief lineup

    Joe Gibbs Racing announces 2021 crew chief lineup

    Joe Gibbs Racing revealed its crew chief lineup for the 2021 NASCAR season, featuring a handful of changes to the organization’s powerhouse stable between the Cup and Xfinity Series.

    Adam Stevens, two-time Cup Series championship crew chief, will move to JGR’s No. 20 Toyota Camry team and serve as crew chief for Christopher Bell, who is to embark on his first full-time season with JGR in NASCAR’s premier series. Ben Beshore, a former engineer for JGR’s No. 18 team, will become a full-time Cup Series crew chief for the No. 18 Toyota team and be paired with two-time Cup champion Kyle Busch.

    Stevens is coming off his sixth full-time season as crew chief for the No. 18 Toyota team in the Cup circuit, having won two championships and 28 races with Kyle Busch. Beshore is coming off his second full-time season in the Xfinity Series as a crew chief, where he led Harrison Burton to four victories and the 2020 Xfinity Series Rookie-of-the-Year title. He won four Xfinity races with Kyle Busch in 2019.

    Chris Gabehart, reigning two-time Daytona 500 winning crew chief, will remain atop the pit box of the No. 11 Toyota Camry team driven by reigning three-time Daytona 500 champion Denny Hamlin while James Small, coming off his first full-time season as a Cup crew chief, will also return as crew chief for the No. 19 Toyota Camry team driven by former Cup champion Martin Truex Jr. for the 2021 Cup season.

    In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, veteran Jason Ratcliff will return to JGR and serve as crew chief for Harrison Burton and the No. 20 Toyota Supra team. Ratcliff is coming off a full-time Cup Series season as crew chief for Christopher Bell and Leavine Family Racing, which ceased operations following the 2020 season.

    Jeff Meendering will remain as crew chief for Brandon Jones and the No. 19 Toyota Supra team while veteran Dave Rogers will also return as crew chief for the No. 18 Toyota Supra team set to be driven by Daniel Hemric, JGR’s newest competitor, in 2021.

    Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images.

    “We go through a process at the conclusion of every season that includes evaluating each of our teams,” Joe Gibbs, Owner of Joe Gibbs Racing, said. “We believe our crew chief lineup for 2021 will best position each team and driver for success across both series.”

    JGR also announced plans to field a fourth entry, the No. 54 Toyota Supra, for the 2021 Xfinity Series season led by crew chief Chris Gayle. Gayle is coming off his fourth full-time season as a Cup crew chief, where he worked with Erik Jones, who transitioned to Richard Petty Motorsports for the 2021 season. The driver lineup and schedule of the No. 54 operation will be announced at a later date.

    “We take a lot of pride in our depth of talent across our entire organization,” Gibbs added. “All of our crew chiefs are proven winners. We are also looking forward to bringing the No. 54 Toyota Supra back to the track in 2021 with an exciting team of drivers.”

    Joe Gibbs Racing’s new driver-crew chief pairings will debut at Daytona International Speedway in February 2021.