Editor’s Note: Today’s Joe Gibbs Racing preview continues NASCAR.com’s countdown of team previews for the 2025 Cup Series season.
JOE GIBBS RACING
Manufacturer: Toyota
Engine: Toyota Racing Development
Driver-crew chief pairings: Denny Hamlin-Chris Gayle (No. 11), Chase Briscoe-James Small (No. 19), Christopher Bell-Adam Stevens (No. 20), Ty Gibbs-Tyler Allen (No. 54)
Team outlook: Joe Gibbs Racing enters 2025 still as one of the powerhouses of the Cup Series but saw some big changes in the offseason. Chase Briscoe replaces the retired Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 19, and the pair of Denny Hamlin and Chris Gabehart is no more as Gabehart transitions to competition director. Hamlin will enter 2025 with Chris Gayle atop the No. 11 box, who used to call the shots for Ty Gibbs and the No. 54 team. Tyler Allen assumed the role of crew chief for Gibbs. Despite the changes, JGR is still bound for another deep playoff run with multiple drivers, if not all four teams after being shut out of the Championship 4 last season. The addition of Briscoe alongside Bell and Gibbs also provides another jolt of youth to the longtime stable.
DENNY HAMLIN, NO. 11 TOYOTA
Experience: 19 full-time seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series; 686 total starts
2024 stats: Eighth in final Cup Series standings; 3 wins, 12 top fives, 18 top 10s, 3 poles
2025 championship odds (DraftKings): 15-2
Outlook: Another heartbreaking playoff exit at Martinsville for Hamlin means another go-around to return to the Championship 4 for the first time since 2021. At 44, Hamlin has yet to show signs that he’s lost a step but will have to find a new cadence and build up a strong relationship quickly with incoming crew chief Gayle. Hamlin has climbed every peak at the Cup Series level except one — the championship. Yes, every victory Hamlin collects toward the end of his career will carry serious value toward his legacy, but that elusive title is one that will forever cling to said legacy unless the goose egg is removed. Every year is a potential chance for the No. 11 to win the championship, but it will be that much harder with a new crew chief.
RELATED: Denny Hamlin 2024 season in review | Hamlin ‘shocked’ Gabehart won’t return to No. 11 team
CHASE BRISCOE, NO. 19 TOYOTA
Experience: Four full-time seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series; 144 total starts
2024 stats: 14th in final Cup Series standings; 1 win, 3 top fives, 9 top 10s
2025 championship odds (DraftKings): 18-1
Outlook: Briscoe delivered one of the most thrilling moments of the 2024 season by holding off Kyle Busch in the Southern 500 to claim the final checkered flag in Stewart-Haas Racing’s last season. Despite the then-imminent shutdown of SHR, Briscoe still utilized his skill to not only make the playoffs but also reach the Round of 12 for a second time in three years. At the milestone age of 30, Briscoe is on the relatively young side of the JGR program and that should pay dividends for the Indiana native. In one of the best rides the Cup Series has to offer, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if Briscoe inserts his name as a title contender from the jump. The last time he was a title contender in the national series, he won nine races in 2020 at the Xfinity level, falling just short of a championship to fellow Cup competitor Austin Cindric. Briscoe will have the raw speed to be a race-winning contender almost every weekend this year. It’ll all come down to his execution and whether or not he is ready to live up to the moment at JGR.
RELATED: Chase Briscoe 2024 season in review | Briscoe on new chapter at JGR
CHRISTOPHER BELL, NO. 20 TOYOTA
Experience: Five full-time seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series
2024 stats: Fifth in final Cup Series standings; 3 wins, 15 top fives, 23 top 10s
2025 championship odds (DraftKings): 11-2
Outlook: Last year marked the first time Bell was left out of the Championship 4 in the Next Gen car, but 2024 was arguably Bell’s best season to date. The 30-year-old wheelman has emerged as one of the top talents in the sport and is only bound to break his own numbers moving forward. Even with the great success from last year, Bell still feels JGR ‘left a ton on the table’ after the organization failed to win the rest of the way in 2024 after Bell’s victory at New Hampshire. With a clean slate for 2025, Bell will be aiming for a win total of five or more, matching his asphalt and dirt competitor Kyle Larson in terms of week-to-week success. As a co-title favorite, expect Bell to continue to ascend his stardom at the Cup level and lead all drivers in victories in 2025. Will it culminate in his first title? Well, we’ll wait for Nov. 2 to answer that.
RELATED: Christopher Bell 2024 season in review | Bell through the years
TY GIBBS, NO. 54 TOYOTA
Experience: Two full-time seasons, plus one partial season in the NASCAR Cup Series
2024 stats: 15th in final Cup Series standings; 0 wins, 8 top fives, 12 top 10s, 2 poles
2025 championship odds (DraftKings): 22-1
Outlook: Yes, Gibbs broke through for his first postseason appearance last year. A feat that wouldn’t go overlooked for almost anyone else in their second full-time season, but after Gibbs’ hot start in 2024, it seemed likely he’d grab his maiden Cup win. That didn’t happen. And Gibbs’ postseason ended quickly with a Round of 16 exit. Gibbs eclipsed his numbers compared to his rookie campaign, but it was only on a few occasions where Gibbs appeared to be a legitimate threat to win. He scored just two top fives in the final 12 races of 2024 and his best finish in the final five races of last year was — 30th at Las Vegas. Safe to say that 2025 needs to be much better for Gibbs in his third campaign behind the wheel of the No. 54. A new crew chief calling the shots could be exactly what the doctor ordered for Gibbs, but he’ll need to fire off from the get-go if he wants to be on par with his teammates.
RELATED: Ty Gibbs 2024 season in review | Gibbs through the years
BOLD PREDICTION: Joe Gibbs Racing returns as the class of the Cup Series field and gets all four Toyotas into the Round of 8. Both Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe clinch berths into the Championship 4 with Bell finally hoisting in the Bill France Cup in his third appearance at the Phoenix season finale. Briscoe will be among drivers with multiple wins in 2025 while Gibbs finally breaks through for Cup win No. 1 in the midseason.