“They’re just a little sensitive”: Denny Hamlin on JGR announcing strategies after Christopher Bell’s slip of tongue at New Hampshire

Denny Hamlin weighed in on Christopher Bell recently letting a team detail slip during a media session. Unlike his own 23XI Racing team, Hamlin noted that Joe Gibbs Racing tend to be more guarded about the information they release publicly.

Ahead of the SciAps 200 race, Christopher Bell unintentionally mentioned "Chase" - likely referring to Chase Briscoe - as the upcoming replacement for Martin Truex Jr. in the 2025 JGR lineup. While Bell tried to play it off with a smile and keep the interview going, the slip-up quickly spread on social media.

Denny Hamlin, who is also the #11 Toyota Camry driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, said via his podcast, Actions Detrimental that he understands the sensitivity of such announcements. He added,

"I don't know if it's tough or not. I mean I think that everyone had assumed that a certain driver would be announced in the #19 but you know JGR is not always the quickest to, you know, put out their own news. Like it just stirs long enough where it just comes out naturally." [48:15]

"This is why back in the day it was very important for us to announce Tyler Reddick coming to 23XI two years in advance because I didn't want these types of rumors and stuff getting out there. [...] So I don't know I think they're just a little sensitive and stuff like that," he further said.

Hamlin highlighted the difference in approaches to public announcements among teams, including his own, 23XI Racing, and Joe Gibbs Racing. He explained that at 23XI, they make the announcement and handle whatever comes on. JGR, on the other hand, tend to play their cards close to the chest. They usually sit on the news until it’s broken elsewhere, and then they confirm it a week or so later, according to the driver.

Hamlin used Ty Gibbs's example to prove his point, noting how JGR also didn’t officially announce him as Kyle Busch’s replacement until the Cup Series was almost at Daytona.

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Denny Hamlin reflected on his own media faux pas

While discussing Christopher Bell's recent slip of tongue, Denny Hamlin shared a story from his early days with Joe Gibbs Racing, revealing a blunder he committed by mixing up his sponsor with another driver's.

Recounting the incident on Actions Detrimental, Denny Hamlin said that when he initially joined the JGR team, he was told that Dale Jarrett was the best with interviews and that he should take inspiration from Jarrett. He was also told 'again and again' that Jarett always thanked his sponsor, UPS.

While giving a pit road interview, Hamlin ended up taking UPS's name instead of that of his own sponsor, FedEx.

"Because they said that 'Dale Jarrett thanks UPS, Dale Jarrett thanks UPS.' And so, it got stuck in my head. I'm doing this interview and it was after Martinsville and I said, 'I just want to thank all the employees at UPS...- FedEx.' And I was like, 'Oh crap! I can't believe I did that,'" Hamlin revealed. [50:36]

"But I mean it's one thing if you forget them but to name their competitor... In that instance it was just not ideal but luckily I was good enough on track where they forgave me and they allowed me to get that ride for the 2006 season," he added.

Denny Hamlin is set to compete at Nashville, where he has consistently performed well, holding an average finish of 10.0 across three starts, including one top-5 and two top-10 finishes.