Bubba Wallace’s spotter backs Denny Hamlin after New Hampshire incident with Ty Gibbs: “Fairly warranted”

Bubba Wallace’s spotter, Freddie Kraft, gave his verdict on the recent feud between Denny Hamlin and his JGR teammate Ty Gibbs at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Named Mobil 1 302, the 301-lap event took place last Sunday, September 21, marking the opening race of the Round of 12 of the 2025 playoffs.

Gibbs, who drives the No. 54 Toyota Camry full-time in the Cup Series, was eventually chucked out of contention due to a broken toe link from a crash on Lap 111. Hamlin, although involved in the crash, was able to finish the race in P12.

Needless to say, Denny Hamlin was confused as to why Ty Gibbs would tangle with him, given that the former is a playoff driver and the latter isn’t. Furthermore, their battle wasn’t even for the lead; it was for the 11th spot.

In the latest episode of the Door Bumper Clear podcast, Kraft shared his views on the matter.

“From what I understand, it was fairly warranted,” Kraft said. “You heard Denny get critical of Ty and people not wanting to talk to him. I don't know him off the racetrack much but like, it just strikes me as a guy that's not having fun all year.” “I feel like they just need to figure out how to get this kid back to having fun and enjoy being in the racecar,” he added.

Ty Gibbs is currently ranked 19th in the series standings with 633 points. Thirty races into the season, the driver has four top-fives and nine top-10s. He has led a total of 300 laps but is still vying for his maiden win of 2025.

Next up for the Charlotte, North Carolina native is the Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by ESPN Bet at Kansas Speedway. Scheduled for next Sunday, September 28, the 267-lap race will be televised on USA (3:00 p.m. ET) with live radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Ty Gibbs suggests payback could arrive in later playoff rounds

Ty Gibbs and Denny Hamlin went door-to-door for about 10 laps before the contact happened, resulting in the ejection of Gibbs’ No. 54. He wasn’t happy with the outcome and voiced a clear warning to his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate after the race.

“Game on,” Gibbs said on his in-car radio, suggesting that payback was due. He tried to continue racing after that but hit the wall again in Turn 2, forcing his team to throw in the towel. Gibbs settled for his third DNF of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Hamlin, however, said that he would leave it to the JGR leadership. He felt it was unfortunate that he and Ty Gibbs had to race the way they did, especially when Hamlin was trying to win a championship for Gibbs’ family.

“I'll let leadership quarterback however they like to, but obviously we're all trying to win a championship for their family,” Hamlin said during a post-race interview at New Hampshire. “So it's crazy unfortunate why we're racing the way we are."

Ryan Blaney won the race, earning an automatic spot in the next round. The top-five spots were rounded off by Josh Berry, William Byron, Joey Logano, and Chase Elliott. Christopher Bell was the highest-finishing driver (P6) from the JGR camp that day.

Get the latest NASCAR All-Star race news, Xfinity Series updates, breaking news, rumors, and today’s top stories with the latest news on NASCAR.

Edited by Samya Majumdar