When Chris Gabehart transitioned from his successful tenure as Denny Hamlin’s crew chief to the role of competition director at Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), he carried a single, nagging fear: that he wouldn’t be able to make a meaningful impact at the organization’s highest level.
Chris Gabehart: From Pit Box to Boardroom
However, just months into his new position, Gabehart’s worries have been replaced by a sense of satisfaction and excitement as his influence is already being felt across the entire JGR operation.
The move happened during JGR’s big shake-up before the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series. After spending six years leading Hamlin’s No. 11 team to 22 wins, including a couple of Daytona 500 victories and making it to the Championship 4 three times, Gabehart got promoted to oversee all four JGR teams.
Chris Gabehart Finds Success in New Role
“It’s fun and exciting to zoom out and do something different,” Gabehart told RACER when talking about his new job. “I certainly feel like I have (made a unique impact), and that’s been gratifying. It’s so new. There are so many things that I’m having to keep track of.”
“It’s just wild how different it is, certainly. There’s a lot to do,” he admitted.
“I’m really proud of where we’re at right now, but it’s not because our performance is where I want it to be. It’s because of how we’re getting results when our performance is not where I want it to be. So, that means you’re executing at a high level,” he explained.
“It’s a job that has a lot of information passing through it, both from the shop and from the race team side. Then, on the business side, learning that and how to make a difference… is a big part of what I do. There is really a lot more to it than when the green flag drops and when the checkered flag falls,” Gabehart shared.
Joe Gibbs Racing… how soon can we get @dennyhamlin in an Xfinity superspeedway race? 👀 pic.twitter.com/B8t9lv8EZv
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) May 2, 2025
Going from focusing on just one car to managing how all the JGR teams work together was a big change. But his positive influence is already clear in the first part of the 2025 season. JGR is leading the Cup Series with five wins in the first 11 races, more than any other team. All four JGR drivers have led laps, and both Hamlin and Christopher Bell have already won multiple races.
As the season keeps going, Gabehart’s move from the pit box to competition director shows how embracing change and thinking about the bigger picture can really pay off. His early success proves that sometimes our biggest fears don’t come true when we take on new challenges.