“Don’t lose your s**t”: Denny Hamlin reflects on his piece of advice to Joe Gibbs’ grandson amid the Bowman Gray Clash

NASCAR Cup Series star Denny Hamlin recently opened up on advice he gave fellow Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs ahead of last weekend's Busch Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. The story was brought to light in the most recent episode of Hamlin's "Actions Detrimental" podcast.

The 54-time Cup Series race winner was asked on the episode whether or not he talks to Gibbs, who's the grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs. The Chesterfield, Virginia native said the two communicate as teammates and shared a hauler this past weekend. Prior to going out for his heat, Hamlin gave Gibbs a piece of advice, saying:

"I think it was before his heat, he was leaving the hauler and I said, 'All right, don't lose your s**t.' He was like, 'What do you mean? The car or my head?' I said, 'Your head.' Trying to warn that you're going to get bounced around, right? You can't just let that lock your brain up and say, 'All right, I'm out to get blood at this moment.' That is the racetrack, right?" [0:17 onwards]

It wasn't the weekend Gibbs could've hoped for as he was caught up in multiple on-track incidents and failed to advance to Sunday night's main event. Hamlin believes a lot of the spinouts were unjust towards his teammate, but unfortunately, it's the nature of racing at the 0.25-mile track. The 44-year-old added:

"He got spun out a few times that was undeserving and so it's hard not to feel like you were done wrong there. But I think he got wiped out a few times where he shouldn't have and it's hard to let that go. Even me, it'd be hard to let that go." [0:47 onwards]

Hamlin, meanwhile, had a solid performance in the Busch Clash. He wheeled the #11 Toyota to a third-place finish after leading 28 laps in the event. Chase Elliott went on to win the race after leading a race-high 171 laps, while Ryan Blaney placed second.

Denny Hamlin set for 20th season in the NASCAR Cup Series

Denny Hamlin walks the track before practice for the Clash at Bowman Gray at Bowman Gray Stadium - Source: Imagn

Having been a full-time NASCAR Cup Series racer since 2006, Denny Hamlin is now one of the oldest, most experienced drivers in the field. He has spent his entire career behind the wheel of the #11 Joe Gibbs Racing car.

Last season, Hamlin picked up three wins early in the year at Bristol, Richmond, and Martinsville, respectively. He had a quality playoff run as he made it to the Round of 8, but couldn't advance to the Championship 4 for the third straight year.

Denny Hamlin has made four Championship 4 appearances since the 16-driver playoff format was implemented in 2014. However, he has yet to win a Cup Series championship after multiple years of coming close.