“One of the things I always worry about when we get two of our cars up there, that can make for an intense meeting tomorrow at 2:00. I can tell you that,” said Joe Gibbs following the last lap battle between Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell.
It was a confusing feeling. Should Coach Gibbs have been happy about the results? Or should he be worried about a power struggle in the team? On one hand, he has the chance of creating history with Bell going for four victories, but on the other, he has a veteran looking to bring back himself to the top.
Well, Kevin Harvick has decoded it. He thinks he has figured out how Joe Gibbs is keeping things cool internally in the team.
In an interview with Christopher Bell post-race, Kevin Harvick talked about JGR’s philosophy he revealed on his Happy Hour podcast. “I asked about that on Victory Lap, and I said, ‘Are there any team orders? Is there anything you guys talk about?’ And he made it sound like they don’t even ever talk about it, and everybody is instructed to go out there and race for themselves. We’ve seen that through the years, Carl Edwards knocked Kyle Busch out of the way. We’ve seen some of the Gibbs cars get into each other. And I believe that is the Gibbs culture—‘I want you to be the best you can be and not worry about that guy because he’s your teammate.’”
In an almost mirror situation to the 2025 Shriners Children’s 500, back in 2016, Carl Edwards bumped Busch out of the way during the Toyota Owners 400. A small nudge coming out of Turn 4 from Edwards meant that he took the win away from Rowdy by 0.675 seconds! “We both have wins. We’re racing for fun, getting trophies. Just an awesome day,” said Cousin Carl after the race. Cut to 9 years later and JGR has another situation on their hands.
Bell did not race Hamlin as an experienced teammate in Phoenix; rather, he did it like any other contender. His move out of the final corner, pushing Hamlin high to force him to lose momentum and win the race by less than 0.1 seconds is no mere coincidence. It was a calculated play Bell employed, not against his teammate, but against a competitor.
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – AUGUST 23: Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 Interstate Batteries Toyota, looks on during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on August 23, 2024 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
“It cost them some races, but it also won them a lot of races. And in the end, they wound up finishing 1-2 in this scenario, really had the dominant car with the 20.” Harvick noted. Some of Hamlin’s past losses have come against his teammates.
While Hamlin and Busch had some instances on the track, none were as big as the 2010 All-Star Race. While defending a move, Hamlin’s block put Rowdy in the wall, leaving Kurt Busch free to take the lead. It was a tough moment for the entire team. However, as Harvick pointed out, it was certainly for the better this time.
What is the team’s secret? Well, apart from Gibbs keeping the drivers in line, Bell and Hamlin both had their own philosophies at play. Hamlin had a very simple perspective. “Do I wish we would have raced in the corner side-by-side and see who could get the best run-off? Absolutely. But I don’t think he was going to win that way. I think that his best opportunity at the moment – being that I had the outside – was to try to slow my momentum by getting me up the racetrack. And it worked perfectly.”
Christopher Bell had something similar to say. “It’s pretty interesting, the culture at JGR really is just… I mean, I guess it’s a dog-eat-dog world. We race each other so hard, and I’ve felt wronged by teammates in the past, and I’ve talked to Adam (Stevens, crew chief of the #20) about it and he’s like, ‘It’s just the way it is.’ It is, you know, race each other as hard as you can but be fair and make sure one of them wins. I told myself, ‘I said no matter what happens, I have to make sure that if I don’t win, Denny wins.
Bell‘s decision to commit to Phoenix made it clear that he is just interested in himself, regardless of hierarchy. Hamlin might also have to follow the rules at JGR, where it’s all about the individual. For all that it’s worth, Coach Gibbs appreciated his drivers.
“Nervous’ isn’t probably a good word for it. I was ready to upchuck. Hey, they raced it out. It looked like nobody took unfair advantage. Just appreciate that. I think for the last two weeks in a row, we’ve had great finishes to races with people having a chance to show their skill and yet get it done the right way,” he said.
The Power of Teamwork: How Hendrick and Penske Manage In-House Battles
Competing in NASCAR involves more than just outperforming 35 other drivers; it also involves controlling internal conflict. While some organizations thrive on disciplined teamwork, others welcome turmoil. Team Penske and Hendrick Motorsports are experts at striking that balance.
Although Hendrick Motorsports encourages driver competition, the team’s performance always comes first. Conflict never gets out of control, even under stressful situations like Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson’s fights in 2022. Since the battle between Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, Rick Hendrick has had a clear philosophy: race aggressively, but don’t wreck each other. The team has won 14 titles thanks to that discipline.
Team Penske adopts a calculated strategy. Cooperation is expected when it helps the organization, but its drivers are free to race. Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, and (formerly) Brad Keselowski frequently collaborated to manage the front of the pack at superspeedways. Blaney and Logano fought without sabotage even in the 2022 title fight; Blaney fulfilled his task to provide Penske’s best chance at the title, and Logano prevailed.
By keeping internal rivalries from degenerating into self-destruction, both teams have prospered, demonstrating that dominance may result from discipline. Their success—21 titles in total—begs the question of whether more teams ought to follow suit or if internal strife produces more motivated players. The sport is still shaped by that controversy.
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