The 2024 Silly Season did shake us up, and now Denny Hamlin is facing his share of it. Stewart-Haas Racing, a 2-time Cup Series championship team, left NASCAR. This was arguably the biggest Silly update that involved many teams in the garage – including Hamlin. However, now, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver can boast one of his own – his long-time crew chief Chris Gabehart is getting replaced by Chris Gayle.

This came as a shocker to the Cup Series garage. Hamlin and Gabehart soared to victory immediately after pairing together in 2019 – winning the Daytona 500. During his 6 years together with Gabehart, Hamlin ranked second in the series in wins (22) and laps led (6,072), qualified for the Championship 4 playoff finale three times, and ranked fifth or better in points in five of six years.

However, this article is not about the Gabehart-Hamlin chemistry. The new crew chief for the No. 11 Toyota team has no less of a decorated resume than Gabehart’s.

Who is Chris Gayle?

No, he is not the Jamaican cricketer regarded as the greatest Twenty20 batsman ever. Chris Gayle has been working under Joe Gibbs Racing’s umbrella for over two decades. His roles have multiple, and Gayle achieved laurels both as an engineer and a crew chief. Gayle’s resume includes a pair of Cup Series victories, 37 Xfinity Series wins, and the 2022 Xfinity Series championship. In 2013, he got his first big break as a crew chief with Elliott Sadler behind the wheel in the Xfinity Series. They did not win until running at Talladega Superspeedway in 2014.

In 2015, Gayle took over the crew chief role of the No. 54 JGR Xfinity Series car. What followed was pure gold, as Kyle Busch clinched the championship that year. Gayle took a brief break from JGR in 2017 when he served as a crew chief at Furniture Row Racing. Gayle’s work with Ty Gibbs has been splendid – the duo clinched the Rookie of the Year honors last year. In 2024, Gayle oversaw the No. 54 team’s growth in Gibbs’ second season as they earned eight top-five finishes, 12 top-10s, two pole awards, and 417 laps led.

How did Chris Gayle foray into racing before wearing the cap of Crew Chief?

Like every driver has a fascinating start to their career, so does every crew chief. Despite living in Arkansas, a place not known for racing, Chris Gayle discovered his love for the sport at age 12. A friend down the street owned a dirt car. Gayle pursued an engineering degree at the University of Arkansas but transferred to North Carolina, where he knew his destiny belonged. After he graduated, Gayle picked up a job with Team Bristol Motorsports. The infamous Kevin Grubb drove for that team.

But it only took six months for Chris Gayle to find his permanent home. He started by helping out with JGR’s Camping World Truck Series team, and from 2004 through 2012, Gayle was an engineer for the No. 18 Cup Series team. Along the way, he worked with Bobby Labonte and JJ Yeley but did not win. However, Kyle Busch’s arrival in 2007 revolutionized Gayle’s team as it clinched 8 race wins in the opening 22 races of the season. As Busch’s engineer, Gayle won 20 Cup races in five years. Holding that success in hand, Gayle was ready for his crew chapter role by 2013.

What happened to Denny Hamlin’s former crew chief Chris Gabehart?

Trending

How Late NASCAR Legend Was Forced to “Sell Everything” After Losing $10,000 to Mafia

Historic NASCAR Track Shutting Its Door After Final Run Has Racing Community Heartbroken

Tony Stewart’s Business Partner Sells Off Iconic ‘Mini Eldora’ Racetrack

HMS Legend’s Demise Has Emotional Jeff Gordon Echoing Rick Hendrick’s Humble Admission

“This Deserves Prison Time” – Bubba Wallace’s Spotter Becomes the Joke as Fans Tear Into Disastrous Beer Pouring Skills

Well, now back to the biggest Silly Season twist in Joe Gibbs’ fold. As Chris Gayle saunters into his new office, questions arise about outgoing No. 11 crew chief Chris Gabehart’s predicament. According to JGR, he is moving into the role of competition director, which will involve overseeing and working closely with the crew chiefs and engineers on all four of JGR’s Cup teams. One of the crew chiefs, Gabehart, will work within his new role alongside Gayle. “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,” Joe Gibbs said.

Denny Hamlin reveals being taken aback by the internal shuffle in Joe Gibbs Racing

As it turned out, Joe Gibbs’ ‘immediate’ decision startled Denny Hamlin. Spending 6 years together in a highly successful driver-crew chief team can tug at your heartstrings. “I certainly was shocked,” Hamlin said in a media availability. “That’s all I’ll say.” But then he did add to these words, feeling a little helpless about Gibbs’ decision. “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.”

Chris Gabehart holds a golden reputation in the Cup Series garage. People hail him as the crew chief who knows how to find every ounce of speed, craft savvy strategies, and motivate masterfully. In an anonymous survey conducted by The Athletic in September, Gabehart received eight votes as the crew chief they would most want to have. Cliff Daniels, 2018 Cup champion Kyle Larson’s crew chief, received the second-most votes with five. So no wonder Denny Hamlin expressed his shock at Gibbs’ call.

Will Denny Hamlin finally be able to end his championship drought with Chris Gayle as the new crew chief?

Now comes the million-dollar question. After 19 years of stellar racing at NASCAR’ss top level, Denny Hamlin still cannot get ahold of that elusive Cup Series title. Even Chris Gabehart’s pairing with him could not roll things along. So will Chris Gayle be the key to this long-rusted lock? Maybe. Gayle holds a stellar reputation for bringing out the best from rookie drivers. Gayle and Erik Jones won two races in four seasons together, including Jones’ first career win in 2018 and the 2019 Southern 500. In 2022, Gayle led Ty Gibbs to seven victories and the series championship before the duo moved to the Cup Series together in 2023. But the caveat is obvious – instead of being a rookie driver, Denny Hamlin is a seasoned veteran with 54 Cup race wins and 19 years’ worth of experience. So even though Gayle’s reputation is unquestionable, Hamlin’s championship hopes hang in the balance as they have always done.