Denny Hamlin Publicly Snubs Dale Jr as JGR Teammate’s ‘Championship’ Gibe Adds to Damning ‘Best Driver’ Verdict

If you had to pick between Dale Earnhardt Jr and Chase Elliott as the better driver, who would it be? Tough call, right? Turns out, even Denny Hamlin from Joe Gibbs Racing had a hard time with this one. When Kevin Harvick threw this question at him, Hamlin called it an unfair question and didn’t appreciate being put on the spot. After all, Dale Jr is his boss at Actions Detrimental, and he’s got a cordial relationship with Chase Elliott, too. Eventually, Hamlin did pick a side, and interestingly, his choice seemed to sway the opinions of other JGR drivers faced with the same dilemma.

Joe Gibbs Racing drivers weigh in on who’s the better driver

Recently, all four Joe Gibbs Racing drivers—Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr, Christopher Bell, and Ty Gibbs—dropped by Kevin Harvick’s ‘Happy Hour’ podcast show to answer some questions. While the questions seemed straightforward, they were anything but simple. Harvick ramped up the tension with a big build-up, claiming the next question would be “the hardest question you ever had to answer in your whole life“. He let the others think a bit, but went straight for Hamlin first.

When Harvick fired off, “Who’s the better driver—Dale Jr. or Chase Elliott?“ you could see Hamlin’s face say it all, looking like he was in deep water. All he managed to get out initially was, “That’s wrong for you to ask me that.“ But when pushed a second time, Hamlin didn’t hold back and went with, “Chase Elliott.“ Next up was Ty Gibbs, who hesitated but then said, “Oh, it’s definitely a hard question. Statistically, I would say Chase Elliott, right?”

Before the question even reached Martin Truex Jr., he quickly nodded in agreement with Ty Gibbs and chimed in, “He does have a championship.“ Then, Christopher Bell added his two cents, “I’m gonna say Chase as well.“ After hearing their responses, Kevin Harvick couldn’t help but express his surprise, saying, “Well, that was, you guys were way easier at that than I thought.” It seemed like a tough call, but the JGR drivers had to pick their side!

Starting his career at Hendrick Motorsports, Chase Elliott has won two Daytona 500 poles but hasn’t yet clinched victory at one of the greatest Superspeedways. Despite this, Elliott boasts 19 race wins and bagged the Cup Series title in 2020. Interestingly, he also won the Xfinity Series title back in 2014 driving the #9 car for Dale Jr’s team, JR Motorsports.

On the other hand, Dale Jr, who kicked off his Cup career at Dale Earnhardt Inc. following back-to-back Xfinity (then-Busch) Series titles, has 26 wins and two Daytona 500 victories under his belt. After moving to Hendrick Motorsports in 2008, Junior wrapped up his career without a Cup title, a notable gap in his otherwise impressive resume.

For now, while Dale Jr might be enjoying the racing this season from his home, and not from the booth, Chase Elliott is revving up to head to Dover Motor Speedway, aiming to add another win to his record.

What are Chase Elliott’s chances of winning at Dover, based on the stats?

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Fresh off a Cup race victory at Talladega, Chase Elliott is a strong bet for Dover. With 13 starts at Dover Motor Speedway under his belt, he’s notched nine top-10s, nine top-5s, and two wins, with an impressive average finish of 9.8. He even took the checkered flag in the first Next Gen race at this track.

Looking at his last five Dover outings, Elliott’s finishes are P11, P1, P3, P39, and P5, stretching from 2023 back to August 2020. Comparatively, Dale Earnhardt Jr has made 35 starts at Dover, securing one win, 7 top-5s, and 13 top-10s, with an average finish of 15.8.

As for the past victors, Denny Hamlin & Kevin Harvick (2020), Alex Bowman (2021), Chase Elliott (2022) and Martin Truex Jr (2023) managed to secure P1 at the last five races at the venue.

So, who do you think holds the edge as a driver at Dover? Drop your thoughts in the comments, and let us know who you’d pick between the two.