MOORESVILLE, N.C. — When Chris Gayle took over as crew chief for Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota during the offseason, he knew there was pressure to perform.
Gayle, who previously called the shots on JGR’s No. 54 driven by Ty Gibbs, was stepping in for Chris Gabehart, who had guided Hamlin through six Cup Series seasons and 22 victories. Gabehart was promoted to JGR’s competition director position.
Gayle didn’t worry about the pressure and he’s led Hamlin and the No. 11 team to consecutive Cup Series triumphs at Martinsville (Va.) Speeedway and Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
“I don’t worry about it, to be honest with you. I was worried about that first one. I’m coming in filling big shoes for Gabehart,” Gayle said Sunday. “He’s been with Denny that long. I’m the only change. I’m not naïve enough to know that. I needed to win and win early.
“Last week was great. We were able to win with a different setup, with something we worked on, came up with and have car speed, to get that out of the way,” Gayle noted. “This one, I was surprised. We obviously just had the right scenario. You take those, right? You take all the ones that you can steal somehow, then get all the ones that you’re the strongest car, you’ll be in good shape.”
• Grizzly Nicotine Pouches will become the primary sponsor on Kaulig Racing’s No. 16 Chevrolet with driver A.J. Allmendinger for four NASCAR Cup Series races.
Kaulig Racing’s Ty Dillon debuted the Grizzly Nicotine Pouches partnership at the 2025 Daytona 500 as part of a nine-race sponsorship.
“We have worked hard on our Cup program, and it is starting to bear fruit with our on-track product and elevated partnerships,” said Kaulig Racing team president Chris Rice. “We are in a growth period and focused on upward trajectory, so it is awesome that partners feel good about what we are delivering to expand their program with us. I am so proud of Ty Dillon and how he has performed and engaged with the Grizzly Nicotine Pouches team, and everyone at Kaulig Racing is excited the program will now include AJ.”
• Ross Chastain finished seventh at Darlington and proclaimed the 1.336-mile track one of his favorites.
“It was a warm one today at Darlington in our Busch Light Fishing Chevy. We worked our way up to the top-15 early in the race with adjustments,” Chastain said. “We got caught by that one caution in the middle of the race just after we pitted under green. So we had to take the wave around and work our way back up through the field. Phil and the guys made good adjustments and we were able to get up in the top 10 and we finished seventh. Darlington is one of my favorite tracks and I am looking forward to Bristol next weekend.”
• Christopher Bell finished third on Sunday aboard the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, but he found his day at Darlington to be a bit puzzling.
“That was a perplexing race. Even now thinking back on it, I don’t know what to think. At the beginning of the day, the car performance was not great, not capable of running inside the top-20,” Bell explained. “All of the sudden, we got that yellow that put me in the front and I could maintain the pace. I don’t know. These cars are very confusing, but overall, great execution from our team and we made something out of being in the back. Got a lucky break, then was able to execute on pitstops and restarts, and walked out of here with a top five.”
• Ty Gibbs finished ninth for his first top-10 finish of the season.
“It’s nice for sure. I know we’ll get more of those, but it was a good improvement,” Gibbs said. “I’m not too worried; feel like we’ll be okay. Just continue to get everyone reps and figure it out. Excited for what the future holds. Know we’ll be good.”
• Chris Buescher brought his RFK Racing Ford home sixth on Sunday, collecting his fifth top-10 finish in eight races this season.
“We had a really fast Fifth Third Bank Ford Mustang,” Buescher said. “I’m really proud of everybody. We made some really good adjustments after practice and got it decent for qualifying and really good in the race. That untimely caution just got us and put us behind for the majority of it, so we clawed our way out of it with some good pit calls. The pit crew did a really nice job today and we got back in the hunt there by the end. We just needed a couple more laps and we probably would have been a little better than some of the cars, but it’s hard to say. We just got a tough break with that one caution.”
