Locator: 49176NASCAR.
Coach Gibbs and grandson Ty Gibbs.
It will be interesting to see who's left standing. My hunch: Grandfather won't tolerate anyone who can't control his temper -- especially when his grandson is in the crosshairs!
Ratings next week? To infinity and beyond.
The good news: Grandfathers take a lot of stuff in stride. They've seen a lot. I should know. LOL.
During the NASCAR Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, things unravelled between Joe Gibbs Racing teammates in a huge blowup.
While Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin (who are both in the playoffs) were trying to fight their way forward, teammate Ty Gibbs stood in their way.
After a spirited battle, Gibbs actually made contact with Bell and radioed to the team that he "won't take anymore crap from my teammate."
Hamlin was directly behind them, and he seemed shocked by what was happening. "Does Ty know we are going for a championship. What the f***?"
The battle wasn't over, as Hamlin then had a shot at the driver of the No. 54 Toyota. He was extremely aggressive and pushed him up the track, but Gibbs refused to back down. Moments later, he had enough and spun Gibbs into the outside wall.
Hamlin did not hold back his feelings on the radio. "Are they afraid to talk to him? That's what I feel like. They're just scared of him."
Gibbs' reaction to the entire incident was simple: "Game on." He later returned to the track following repairs, but nearly crashed again as he hit the wall at the exit of Turn 2. He later faced questions outside of the infield care center, but he decided not to engage and only talked about looking forward to next week.
Winner?
Blaney’s No. 12 Team Penske Ford led 116 of the race’s 301 laps including the final 39 laps ... Blaney’s victory cashes the popular 2023 series champion’s ticket into the Round of 8 in pursuit of his second NASCAR Cup Series title. Important both Sunday and likely further in the playoffs as the season’s three-race winner can expect fierce competition from his Penske teammate, three-time and reigning series champ Joey Logano as the playoffs intensify.
JGR’s veteran driver Denny Hamlin, who ran top-10 most of the day, and was involved in an incident with his teammate Ty Gibbs mid-race, dropped from the championship lead coming into New Hampshire to now fifth place in the points with a 12th-place run.
The season’s five-race winner had no comment, however, about the contact with Gibbs that put the young third-year driver into the wall and out of the race while they both raced among the top-10.
Blaney’s victory — the 16th of his career — automatically moves him into the next round of the playoffs. Byron is now second in the standings, 47 points above the cutoff line. Larson is 41 points up and Bell is 29 points to the good.
