“That dude can wheel”: Denny Hamlin’s former crew chief heaps praise as Christopher Bell locks in for the 2025 playoffs

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell recently bagged his first drafting track win at the Ambetter Health 400, which took place at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. His triumph was also well-received by JGR's Director of Competitions Chris Gabehart, who served as the crew chief for Denny Hamlin before transitioning to an executive role, at the 2025 season's second race in Georgia.

Bell started the race outside the top 30 on the grid and gradually wheeled his No. 20 Toyota machine up through the track positions. The Norman, Oklahoma native battled Kyle Larson in the final moments of the race where the latter looked favorite to win. He then held Larson and Carson Hocevar up until NASCAR raised the caution flag on the final lap, resulting in the Toyota driver's maiden win of the season.

In a recent post on X, NASCAR veteran Gabehart reacted to the 30-year-old's 10th career victory and wrote:

"1 down Congrats to @CBellRacing and all of my @JoeGibbsRacing teammates! That dude can wheel. Thanks for the ride, @ToyotaRacing . And for the support @DEWALTtough . Many more to come... 🏁🏆"

With this win, Christopher Bell locked himself in early for the 2025 playoff round. Meanwhile, the other three JGR drivers - Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, and Chase Briscoe will continue their quest after two eventful superspeedway races for the season.

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"He's focused on all the cars": Christopher Bell reflects on Chris Gabehart's new role at JGR

Back in January 2025, Christopher Bell addressed Hamlin's former crew chief Chris Gabehart's role as an executive under the JGR shed. The No. 20 Toyota driver pointed out how the veteran Gabehart was just involved in handling Hamlin's machine. However, after the crew chief shake-up for the No. 11 team, Bell has shown high confidence in Gabehart's experience for all the drivers under the Toyota roster.

In a conversation with Fox reporter Bob Pockrass, Bell said (via X):

"I've always had the utmost respect for Chris Gabehart. I felt like he was an amazing crew chief. Super smart individual and I'm excited about him and his new role, because I think he really can, specifically, help the 20 car and, overall, help the company get going to where all four of our cars are performing better."

He continued:

"He hasn't been focused [on the 20 car] in the past," Bell said. "Now, whenever we go to Kansas, he can be like, 'Hey, you might want to look in this area.' Maybe it's shocks, maybe it's springs, or body builds, or whatever it is. Before, he was only focused on the 11. Now, he's focused on all the cars."

With praise from Gabehart and his maiden win of the season, Christopher Bell has started his year strong under the Joe Gibbs Racing roster. The No. 22 driver will now look to tame the road course race at Circuit of the Americas on March 2, where he finished runner-up last season.