It took eight months, but Joe Gibbs Racing has reset the winless counter to zero.
Christopher Bell — the same driver who last triumphed for the organization at New Hampshire in June — won Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway to put an end to a question he was beyond tired of being asked.
“I am glad that we don’t have to hear that,” Bell said with a smile at Atlanta. “Joe Gibbs Racing has not won since June. That’s all I’ve heard. So, I’m very happy to end that narrative.”
Gibbs won six races last season with two of its four drivers. The other two went winless.
Ahead of the 2024 season, Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs were each paired with a new crew chief. Hamlin now works with Chris Gayle, who previously worked with Gibbs. Tyler Allen, from the organization’s Xfinity Series program, was paired with Gibbs.
And Chris Gabehart, Hamlin’s former crew chief, was promoted to competition director. The move allows Gabehart to oversee and contribute to all four teams.
“In our case we felt lik,e we needed to re-organize and do things a different way,” Joe Gibbs said. “Last year we led a lot of laps, but we didn’t win races like we should, and so we went to work in the offseason. Moved Chris up, kind of re-organized, and kind of redid the 54 car, and we made some other changes. So, it’s great for us to get off to a good start here with the second race of the year to get a win.”
Bell was the highest-finishing driver for Gibbs in the 2024 championship standings (fifth). He was the last driver eliminated in the postseason, which came down to a review at Martinsville Speedway over the finish and race manipulation. NASCAR gave the final Championship 4 spot to William Byron over Bell.