“Sr fit that bill”: Denny Hamlin’s former crew chief sees ‘lot of truth’ in NASCAR founder’s historic address

Denny Hamlin’s old crew chief Chris Gabehart responded to a throwback post by Nascarman. The post took the fans back to December 14, 1947, when Bill France Sr., the founder of NASCAR, and 33 other officials, met at the Streamline Hotel to discuss the future of American stock car racing.

But, the rule-making process wasn’t going too well until France Sr. intervened. As quoted by Nascarman, the then-38-year-old American said,

“When NASCAR was formed, all the car owners sat down in a room to make the rules. After many hours, they came out with no agreement and I learned it had to be one man who told the people what the rules were gonna be. And if they didn't like it, they could go home."

As per reports, NASCAR was born exactly 69 days after that meeting. Noting the stronghold that France Sr. had over NASCAR and its operations, Gabehart commented on the post, saying,

“A LOT of truth in this quote. But it better be a really really smart person. Sr fit that bill.”

Gabehart was recently promoted to Director of Competition at Joe Gibbs Racing. Chris Gayle, the former crew chief for the No. 54 team, will fill in as Hamlin’s new crew chief, while Gabehart will stay busy in his new role starting in 2025.

Gabehart and Hamlin have been working together for the last six seasons. During that time, the duo amassed 22 wins, including a pair of victories in the crown jewel Daytona 500.

The good news is that even Gayle is an excellent crew chief in his own right. He owns 37 Xfinity Series wins and the 2022 series championship. Gayle also won two victories in the Cup Series.

NASCAR insider shares “gut punch” take on Chris Gabehart parting ways with Denny Hamlin

Denny Hamlin is 44. This means he doesn’t have countless years to win what he has always wanted to win, a NASCAR Cup Series championship. As per renowned journalist Jeff Gluck, getting paired with a new crew chief at this point in his career must have felt like a blow to the gut.

“There’s a lot of just like man, this guy was at the top of his game crew chief wise and had a driver who still had a couple years left where they could win,” Gluck observed in an episode of The Teardown. “And he obviously had stated goals of trying to get to 60 wins, try to get a championship.”

Denny Hamlin and Chris Gabehart are often referred to as one of the most successful driver-crew chief combinations of the decade. Safe to say, it could take a while for Hamlin to get in sync with his new crew chief as much as he was with Gabehart.

“So, it’s like man, I just think for Denny it’s gotta be a huge gut punch because now you’re looking at this and going man, this is gonna be really, really tough. This journey that I’ve been on just got a whole lot harder,” Gluck added.

The Hamlin-Gayle pairing will debut at Bowman Gray Stadium on February 2. The season-opening Clash will stream live on FOX. Fans can listen to radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio from 8 pm ET onwards.