Be it hoisting the three Super Bowl trophies or celebrating five NASCAR Cup Series championships, Joe Gibbs has mastered the art of steering his teams through chaos and coming out as winners. So when Christopher Bell ripped into his No. 20 crew — “We just f—— ran seventh with the best car on the track! Every f—— week, it’s the same s—,” fuming over strategy calls in the middle of a 24-race winless streak, Gibbs didn’t rush to calm the waters. Instead, Gibbs let the emotions run their course. The result was a fruitful victory for Christopher Bell at Bristol Motor Speedway. And it is now that the 84-year-old is making his feelings known.

Christopher Bell’s fourth win of the season at Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race proves that Joe Gibbs Racing’s philosophy is firing on all cylinders, as the team pulled off a clean sweep of the opening playoff round. Bell, Denny Hamlin, and Chase Briscoe strung together three straight victories in Bristol, Gateway, and Darlington, respectively. Across those races, the team’s four Toyotas dominated, leading 757 of 1,107 laps before the playoff field was trimmed from 16 to 12 drivers with seven races and three rounds still to go. And the Coach could not be happier.

Speaking to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Joe Gibbs, with a huge smile on his face, said, “We love this place. I think it’s one of the most exciting races of the year, and so it’s just a thrill tonight. I think we have fast cars all the way around, and for Christopher to get the win was great for DeWalt. Just appreciate them, Toyota, all of our partners. Just a big deal for us. I love the atmosphere here. Before the race, it’s awesome. I told Johnny Morris, all they do to support this race is great, and they had all the veterans up here, too. All those guys that kept fighting for us and let us enjoy all this, so appreciate it.”

This definitely makes JGR the favorite as the playoffs advance. And there is no doubt as to why Joe Gibbs wouldn’t be happy for his team drivers. Christopher Bell started ninth in his No. 20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing and quickly worked his way into the top 10 as the early laps saw aggressive racing and multiple cautions. Tire wear became a major factor, but timely adjustments from crew chief Adam Stevens kept Bell competitive through the mid-race stages, even as incidents like a crash involving Bubba Wallace brought out additional caution.

The race came down to a four-lap sprint to the finish after a late caution. Restarting fifth with fresh tires, Christopher Bell skillfully navigated through the field, holding off Brad Keselowski’s last-lap bump to claim victory by just 0.343 seconds. The win advanced him into the Round of 12. On the other hand, Chase Briscoe crossed the finish line in ninth place after starting 31st. However, Denny Hamlin’s night took a different turn.

The No. 11 driver held on to the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs after his Gateway win, but disaster struck on lap 385. After slight contact with AJ Allmendinger, the No. 11 car shed its right front wheel, sparking a crash that immediately drew a two-lap penalty for Hamlin’s crew. And now the NASCAR rulebook leaves no room for debate. Losing a wheel on the track comes with consequences. Beyond the two-lap penalty served in the pits, the sanctioning body typically hands down suspensions to two over-the-wall crew members responsible for tire changes. That ruling looms large for Joe Gibbs Racing as the playoff moves into critical stops at New Hampshire and Kansas. And there’s no doubt that the Denny Hamlin fans are absolutely fuming over the disaster-filled Bristol race. 

After the first round of the Cup Series playoffs concluded at Bristol, Denny Hamlin leads the Round of 12 with 3,034 points. Christopher Bell is fourth with 3,027 points, sitting +20 points ahead of the cut line. And Chase Briscoe is sixth with 3,018 points, making him +10 points above the line. And it’s only a matter of time until the top three drivers of JGR prove their mettle in the next round. However, one JGR driver is still grappling with the loss of not making it to the playoffs, and Joe Gibbs has finally dropped the hammer on it.

Joe Gibbs about his grandson’s winless streak

Ty Gibbs’ 2025 campaign has been a season of contradictions. On one hand, the 22-year-old pocketed $1 million by winning the NASCAR inaugural In-Season tournament. On the other hand, his overall performance has been disappointing, failing to translate into the consistency needed to make the Cup Series playoffs, even as Joe Gibbs Racing thrived with Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe leading the charge. He is the only JGR driver who is not in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Despite nine top tens and four top fives, Gibbs fell short on points and has struggled to turn late-season outings into anything memorable. And with legacy backing him up, Ty Gibbs has a lot to prove. 

Team owner and grandfather Joe Gibbs didn’t sugarcoat his assessment of the No. 54 driver, admitting his grandson has fallen below expectations. The 84-year-old stressed how demanding NASCAR can be, urging Ty to stay focused and give maximum effort. In a press conference after Bristol, the elder Gibbs said, “Yeah, this sport is really hard, and I keep telling him, honestly, I use the word patience, and two races ago we were talking after the race and he said, ‘Coach, will you quit using the word patience? I don’t want you to ever use it again.’ So patience is out the window.”

And now Joe Gibbs agreed that it was time to drop the patience narrative and push for a tougher, results-driven approach. The message is clear: Ty Gibbs must raise his pace and sharpen his craft to secure his future seat at JGR. With veterans like Denny Hamlin showing how it’s done at the top, Gibbs has no shortage of examples to learn from, but whether he turns promise into performance remains the looming question.