Hamlin Clash Hits Chris Gayle's Team; Motorsports World on Edge!
Nov 2, 2025; Avondale, Arizona, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin (11) with crew chief Chris Gayle during the NASCAR Championship race at Phoenix Raceway | Credits- Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images The 2025 Cup Series finale shattered the dreams that Denny Hamlin had been building up for twenty years. A bad tire strategy near the end of the race resulted in him not being able to make up enough positions to secure his maiden championship and the person who gave the final order to execute this strategy was his crew chief, Chris Gayle.
Any driver in Hamlin’s position would have likely developed a grudge with Gayle . But he has been a complete gentleman and a professional. He revealed in his post-race interview at Las Vegas on Sunday that he has not spoken to Gayle about the decision even once since the finale.
Both of them just let each other be, and things are as good as ever now. Hamlin said , “I know that he felt horrible. Not that it was his fault.
Maybe I could have done something. I mean, that was just a moment that certainly he wishes he could have back, and I wish I could have back. But yeah, we both went through it for some time.
“By the time I got back to him, he was certainly in a better spot. And we never talked about it,” the Joe Gibbs Racing driver added. Hamlin is someone who likes to have his professional relationships separate from his personal ones.