Why Joe Gibbs Racing heads into the 2025 NASCAR season with plenty to prove

Joe Gibbs Racing decided good wasn’t good enough after the 2024 season, and it makes for an intriguing year ahead for the organization.

Three of the four Gibbs teams look different than last year, and one of its best crew chiefs, Chris Gabehart, has come off the pit box where he oversaw one team, and is now overseeing everything as competition director. All of the changes boiled down to trying to make the organization stronger.

Gibbs won six races last year with two drivers; the other two went winless. But three of the four drivers earned a berth in the postseason. None of them, however, made it to the Championship 4.

Considering that Gibbs is one of the powerhouse teams in the Cup Series, the expectation is to win often and contend for the Cup Series title. But Gibbs hasn’t won a driver championship since 2019 with now-former driver Kyle Busch. Since the title race moved to Phoenix Raceway, there have been Gibbs drivers in contention, but they all ultimately came up short.

Denny Hamlin finished fourth in the points in 2020 and third in 2021. Martin Truex Jr., now retired, finished second in the points in 202. It’s been Christopher Bell carrying the banner the last few seasons, making it to the championship race in 2022 and ’23.

Again, it’s been good but not good enough. Not for a team like Gibbs. They want more.

Hence the intrigue. Will the moves that were made this offseason work? Were they the right ones?

Here is a breakdown:

Denny Hamlin, Chris Gayle, and the No. 11 team

Well, will this be the year for Hamlin to win the Cup Series championship? Will it be Gayle who helps make it happen?

A championship is all that matters to Hamlin. His accomplishments and win total (54) are worthy of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, but the lack of a championship is the elephant in the room. There’s no shame in it, because a championship is not in the cards for everyone, but it is certainly notable when you consider how successful Hamlin has been in every other area.

So that means a very motivated Hamlin going into 2025. Those who were in the scrum with Hamlin back on Nov. 22, the day the organization changes at Gibbs were announced, got the sense that he wasn’t necessarily happy about losing Gabehart. It wasn’t Hamlin’s decision, and he didn’t know it was coming until he was told it was done.

Hence, the motivation to continue to succeed despite a crew chief change. Gayle, meanwhile, becomes the next man up to try to get Hamlin over the hump. And there has to be a bit of determination for Gayle, too. He has two Cup Series wins from 214 starts, and plenty more to accomplish.

A quick win for Hamlin and Gayle would set a good tone for the season. Then, the question becomes how much more they can do together.

Chase Briscoe, James Small, and the No. 19 team

It’s a foot race between Hamlin, Gayle, Briscoe, and Small for who feels they have the most to prove at Gibbs. In the case of the No. 19 team, Briscoe gets a great second chance at Cup Series success following the dissolution of Stewart-Haas Racing, where he won twice in four years. Briscoe knows what’s expected of him at Gibbs, and he doesn’t expect to be around if he doesn’t deliver.

And that should be the case. Briscoe is a proven winner and is considered one of the best talents in the garage. It needs to show consistently.

Small, meanwhile, wants to prove he can succeed without Martin Truex Jr. A lot of credit for the team’s success went to Truex’s ability, and Small wants some respect put to his name for the job he did on the pit box. It makes for two determined people, but the results will tell the tale.

Christopher Bell, Adam Stevens, and the No. 20 team

The duo of Bell and Stevens is the only one at Gibbs that will remain the same going into the season. On that basis, the expectations for the No. 20 team are the same: win, and win a lot.

Over the last three seasons, Bell and Stevens have won eight races, which ties them with teammate Hamlin for the most within the organization during that same time. Bell has also been in the Championship 4 during two of the last three seasons.

It’s a matter of bursting through the next door and winning a Cup Series championship. The team is capable and Bell continues to come into his own as one of the top drivers in the sport. Stevens is a two-time Cup Series champion crew chief, and gets the most of the people he guides.

The only downside here is that Bell and Stevens, sometimes through no fault of their own, have had chances slip through their fingers. It’s why Bell says the team hasn’t shown its full potential even five years into his Cup Series career. So, imagine how dominant his team can be when that day comes.

A particular intrigue around Bell is this: can overall happiness translate to success? Gibbs has loosened its rules around its driver dirt racing, which means Bell is back to having fun away from the NASCAR circuit. For anyone who followed the Chili Bowl last week, Bell made headlines not only for his performance but the smile on his face.

A good mental mind space goes a long way for any athlete. If being able to run dirt races brings Bell that much happiness and confidence, there is no reason it shouldn’t translate to Sunday afternoons.

Ty Gibbs, Tyler Allen, and the No. 54 team

The pressure on this team has nothing to do with jobs being on the line. But in terms of meeting expectations, the pressure is there to start consistently achieving the results a Joe Gibbs Racing team should be getting, including winning.

Gibbs is winless through his first two seasons. It’s not the end of the world, and other young drivers have gone longer, but Gibbs should have won by now. His average finish in 2024 was 17.4 (slightly better than the 18.4 he earned in his rookie season), and he was on the fringe of contending for a postseason spot on points. All the numbers need to bump upward going into year three.

And so, enter Allen. Now the man tasked with elevating the No. 54 team, Allen becomes a Cup Series crew chief for the first time. That in itself brings pressure to perform. The good news is that Allen is no stranger to leading successful race teams. He had a fruitful 2024, winning eight races with four different drivers. Will these two gel, and how quickly?

Joe Gibbs hopes it’s sooner rather than later. But the same can be said about all of his teams after trying to leave no stone unturned ahead of a new season.