NASCAR Legend Joe Gibbs Pleads the Fifth on his Drivers Altercation with Hendrick Motorsports

The aggressive side of the clash between Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin is unraveling gradually. The incident between the two at the Pocono Raceway on Sunday has turned into an intense spat in a few days, and the flares don’t look like dying out anytime soon. Hamlin’s team owner, the legendary Joe Gibbs, witnessed all this from afar.

The former Washington Redskins head coach has not taken sides so far. Speaking on Channel 90 of SiriusXM NASCAR radio, he said he would prefer to continue staying mum on the issue. Gibbs believes that such altercations are something the drivers know best about and are a common workplace occurrence in NASCAR.

Team owner Joe Gibbs emphasizes the competition among drivers

Hamlin was not the only driver from Joe Gibbs Racing to come into contact with Larson’s #5 Camaro at Turn 1. On the 46th lap, as the green flags were waved, the Hendrick Motorsports duo of Larson and William Byron led the line. Behind were #4 Kevin Harvick and JGR’s #20 Christopher Bell. As turn 1 approached, Bell chipped Larson’s rear bumper, unsettling the #5. Bell was aware of this and quickly apologized on the team radio. Hamlin’s response was the polar opposite of Bell’s.

Addressing the ongoing quarrel between two of NASCAR’s finest drivers, Joe Gibbs said, “There is so much that happens at the end of these races.”

“I mean, it’s a battle you can imagine; each time, each driver, each crew chief, everybody is saying a lot… you know, it’s my sponsor, it’s my chance to win, I’ve worked so hard for this week in preparation, and I’ve gone through all this. I’ve raced till the end of this race, and there’s a determination about that where guys just — they go after it.”

Speaking on the unpredictability of circumstances in this fast-moving sport, he added, “There’s a lot that can happen, and sometimes it doesn’t go the way we want it to.”

Read more: NASCAR Community Turns Against “Narcissist” Denny Hamlin After His Blatant Denial of Reality

Gibbs is reminded of times when Hamlin was on the receiving end

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Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing drivers have been meeting on the track quite often. Alex Bowman’s #48 and Hamlin have come into contact many times in recent months, and now wrecking Larson might just be the last straw. Even on Sunday at Pocono, Bowman’s Chevy was the first car that spun out when Hamlin came close to bumping the #48’s rear bumper. But it seems like there was no contact whatsoever.

Joe Gibbs has the opinion that, as a race car driver, people should understand that this is an ebb and flow of the sport. He goes back in time to recall the instances where Hamlin happened to be the victim.

“Each driver, I think that’s spent years driving these race cars has had it happen to them.”

“I think back in Denny’s case — at Indy in 2021, leading, gets knocked out of the way on the last lap. Fall of 2021 at Martinsville. 2019 at Loudon. I mean, there’s different times in there where it’s happened to Denny.”

Calling the drivers involved in the wreck the most knowledgeable men about the details, he says that it is in the best interest of all parties that he stay out of it. And that has been his modus operandi for handling such cases for three decades.

“The drivers know everything about what happened; I don’t. So to be truthful, I normally just kind of stay out of it. That’s been my approach for 31 years. I let them talk about it, and you would hope that they do talk about it, and they go to each other after the race or at some point and kinda work it out between them. That’s kinda where I’ve always been with it.”

Gibbs’ words indeed have a sense of accuracy to them. While the situation has only worsened since Hamlin’s comments after the race, approaching Larson to work it out sounds like the best choice to make.

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