DOVER, Del. -- J.D. Gibbs, team president for Joe Gibbs Racing, said prior to Sunday's AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway that he has no problem with his drivers speaking their minds.

But he did admit that one of them, Denny Hamlin, may have gotten a little carried away this weekend with his pointed criticism of Richard Childress Racing. What had been merely a verbal feud between Hamlin and RCR spilled over to the race track when RCR driver Kevin Harvick bumped Hamlin from behind as the two exited pit road to begin the first of two Cup practices on Saturday.

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[Hamlin] was trying to defend the team and in the process kind of called them out a little bit. ... I get that, but let somebody else do that. I think looking back now, he probably wishes he could have taken some of that back and not made that the issue.

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-- J.D. GIBBS

"We've had this conversation with Denny. In the future, you don't have to be a different person. Say what you want to say and how you want to say it; just use good judgment," Gibbs said following Sunday's pre-race drivers' meeting at Dover.

"He was trying to defend the team and in the process kind of called them out a little bit. ... I get that, but let somebody else do that. I think looking back now, he probably wishes he could have taken some of that back and not made that the issue."

Gibbs said the concern for JGR is that Hamlin's battles with RCR might hamper his ability to win the Chase. Hamlin was leading the point standings heading into Sunday's race, with Harvick in second 45 points behind.

"He understands that ultimately we're all on the same page. We're trying to win a championship," Gibbs said. "We're trying to build the foundation to do that, so don't do anything that detracts from that.

"We've had a lot of guys in the past who were outspoken guys. That's fine. Just do it the right way."

Gibbs admitted that he was upset that Harvick damaged Hamlin's car during Saturday's practice.

"I think it's frustrating," Gibbs said. "But ultimately I think it's one of those things where we're going to trust NASCAR to handle that. They do a good job of it."

Gibbs also admitted he would be surprised if NASCAR penalized Harvick for Saturday's incident. Robin Pemberton, vice president of competition, said there were no plans to do so on Saturday, although NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said it was possible the incident could be reviewed further.

Furthermore, Gibbs said he is not too worried about further retaliation by RCR cars on the track.

"I would be surprised. I think NASCAR has made it clear that that ain't gonna happen," Gibbs said.

He added that he did not expect the damage done to Hamlin's car to be a factor in Sunday's race. With both Hamlin and Harvick trying to run for a championship, Gibbs said he just hopes both drivers put Saturday's incident and the weekend war of words behind them.

"We've been here in this sport long enough to see some crazy stuff happen," Gibbs said. "Once it happens, though, you tend to forget about it and move on. That's what I hope happens here with this, that we just forget about it and move on. Denny was just distracted. That's what you don't want in the Chase -- distractions.

"We're in the middle of the Chase. We just have to move on and keep going. Just dig. We just want to keep our head down and work on this championship and be consistent."

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