The staffing changes at Joe Gibbs Racing are in full swing. After Chris Gabehart became the team’s Competition Director, Chris Gayle moved on from the No. 54 car to join Denny Hamlin. With a void left in Ty Gibbs’ team, Tyler Allen has been promoted as his new crew chief for 2025 and beyond. It’s quite a promotion for Allen, who has no Cup Series experience but has spent time atop the pit box in NASCAR’s second tier. Will he be able to lead Joe Gibbs’ grandson to championship glory in the foreseeable future?

If his time with Kyle Busch’s 2019 team is any indication, Allen should do well with Joe Gibbs’ grandson. Will he be able to replicate Rowdy’s championship success in the No. 54 Toyota Camry team? Time will tell.

Is the No. 54 team at risk of being too inexperienced?

He might not have a lot of experience as crew chief, but Tyler Allen has been there and done that. Last year, he worked with the No. 20 Xfinity Series car, helping the team win eight races under his leadership, which resulted in a runner-up finish in the owner’s championship.

Before his time atop the pit box, he worked under Adam Stevens as a race engineer as part of Kyle Busch’s team, helping Rowdy and Christopher Bell during the 2022-23 season accumulate a total of five Championship 4 appearances.

Sharing his expectations from Tyler Allen as Ty Gibbs’ crew chief, NASCAR YouTuber Eric Estepp said, “Just as James Small studied under Cole Pern, Tyler Allen has studied under Adam Stevens for years. In fact he was part of Kyle Bush’s 2019 championship team. So not a very experienced crew chief but he’s been around. One of the best in the business for years. He’s very familiar with Joe Gibbs Racing. He’s been competing at the Cup Series level for quite some time. This is an interesting choice but not a bad one by any means. Young crew chief, younger driver in Ty Gibbs. Hopefully, this combination can make some magic happen.”

It’s not the first time Tyler Allen and Ty Gibbs will partner up. The pair worked together in an Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where Joe Gibbs’ grandson finished on pole during qualifying, led 27 laps during the race, and finished ninth. The North Carolina native will be competing in his third full Cup Series season in 2025 and will hope to make significant progress from his 15th-place finish in the driver standings. Whether Allen is the man for the job remains to be seen, but he seems to have the backing of Joe Gibbs.

Expressing faith in the rookie crew chief’s abilities, the 84-year-old team owner said, “Tyler Allen was successful at the Cup level with us while working under Adam Stevens and was impressive last season in the Xfinity Series leading that 20 team to eight wins while working with a number of different drivers.” It seems like Joe Gibbs Racing is undergoing quite an internal restructure, as Allen was initially meant to take over as crew chief for Taylor Gray and the No. 54 Xfinity Series team, but the recent reshuffle has meant that Jason Ratcliff will come out of semi-retirement to take over the responsibilities instead.

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Allen sheds insight into his relationship with Ty Gibbs

Tyler Allen’s appointment is somewhat of a gamble for Joe Gibbs Racing. Even though he has experienced success as a crew chief before, there is a big gulf in standard between the Xfinity and the Cup Series. Ty Gibbs is considered an exciting prospect in the stock car racing world, but the 22-year-old is far from the finished product, and it would be Allen’s responsibility to get the best out of his racing driver in 2025 and beyond.

Revealing his rapport with Ty Gibbs, Allen said, “It’s a relatively fresh start, and I think that’s kind of what he’s looking for, and I’m certainly excited about it. You know, this is work. We met today and talked about a bunch of things, but these are our careers and it’s definitely a professional relationship. And I think overtime that that will grow into a more personal and good friendship, overall. We’re here to go to work, we’re here to win races and I think we’re both on the same page with that.”

Despite failing to win a single race in 2024, Ty Gibbs made it to the playoff after accumulating enough points through consistent results. However, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver was eliminated in the Round of 16 after not finishing higher than 15th in the opening three postseason races. With Allen at the helm in 2025, the youngster will look to build on his performance and challenge for the championship in the foreseeable future. Gibbs has the talent and age on his side to lift the Bill France Cup one day, the question is if Allen can help the driver fulfill his potential.