“We’ve made the right decisions”: Joe Gibbs reveals Toyota’s frantic effort to fix JGR engine issues before Phoenix showdown

Following an underwhelming outing at Martinsville Speedway caused by mechanical issues, Joe Gibbs assured that Toyota has everything under control heading into the championship race this weekend. He expressed confidence that both the organization and its technical team have made the right adjustments to avoid any similar problems at Phoenix Raceway.

Gibbs confirmed that a batch of defective valve springs caused the mechanical issues that affected Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe’s races at Martinsville. Valve springs are responsible for ensuring the engine’s valves open and close precisely to maintain efficient combustion. When their timing becomes inconsistent, performance drops significantly, especially in racing, where engines operate at high RPMs for extended periods.

Both Hamlin and Briscoe failed to finish at the 0.526-mile Virginia short track. The silver lining, however, is that both drivers had already secured their spots in the Championship 4 by winning the first two races of the Round of 8.

In an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Joe Gibbs noted that the team is on top of any potential mechanical issues in their bid to win the championship on Sunday.

“I think it always concerns you anytime you have a motor issue. We feel like, this morning, we went through everything that happened and got all the parts out and we have a plan and strategy where we end up in a good position, and it doesn’t come back to us this next week in Phoenix,” Gibbs said (via motorsports.com). “So the decisions then were made by Toyota, this is what we're going to do for this coming weekend. We feel like that we've made the right decisions. We kind of have discussed what did happen, and we're convinced we made the right decisions about what's going to take place on Sunday. So I think it's made by Toyota and a lot of our technical people,” he added.

Chase Briscoe (#19) and Denny Hamlin (#11) - Source: Imagn

After the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, Kyle Larson and race winner William Byron completed the Championship 4 field. The eliminated playoff drivers were Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, and 2024 NASCAR champion Joey Logano.

The season finale at Phoenix Raceway is scheduled for November 2 at 3:00 p.m. ET. Both Hamlin and Briscoe are entering the race with a chance to win their first Cup Series championship.

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“It psychologically makes you feel better”: Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin on Team Penske getting eliminated from playoffs

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin shared his thoughts on Team Penske’s elimination from the playoffs after the Round of 8. He admitted feeling relieved not to have to compete against the Ford team but acknowledged their strong performance history at Phoenix Raceway.

The #11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver said (via his Actions Detrimental podcast):

“It certainly psychologically makes you feel better. I don't know that it really matters. You're an idiot if you don't respect what they've done at that racetrack.” [38:53]

Over the past three seasons, Team Penske has won every Championship 4 battle at Phoenix Raceway. The team dominated in 2022 and 2024, while in 2023, Ross Chastain led the most laps and won, but wasn’t a championship contender, allowing Ryan Blaney, who finished second, to secure the title.

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Edited by Zarec Sanchez