Mechanical failures have plagued Joe Gibbs Racing in recent weeks, but the team says it is in a better place heading into championship weekend at Phoenix Raceway.
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"We've been on that all morning," team owner Joe Gibbs said about the failures during a Monday media session. "We've all got the parts out, looked at everything. I think issues with the motors are always concerning. You never want that to happen.
"I think we kind of have understood where we are and what those parts were and have made adjustments, for sure. Really, those parts will not be in the cars for this weekend. So, we feel good about that."
Gibbs did not detail the exact issues during this media session, but he provided a few more details during an appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio to discuss Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe making up half of the Championship 4 lineup.
"I think we've got those parts — and anytime you have valve spring issues, they come in batches," Gibbs told Larry McReynolds and Alan Cavanna. "I think we got things covered."
The team's latest mechanical failures took place on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway. Briscoe exited the race after completing 295 laps, and he headed to pit road with an apparent engine issue. His team popped the hood but could not get him back in the race.
Briscoe finished 37th in the race. This did not affect his playoff outlook considering that he locked up a spot in the Championship 4 by winning at Talladega Superspeedway.
"No indication," Briscoe said after exiting the race. "I was just running around there. I felt really good about coming here and where we were at and racing with (Kyle) Larson there and went to upshift and something happened.
"I'm not really sure, it's unfortunate. We'll go on to next week and that won't matter anyways."
Hamlin's mechanical failure occurred on Lap 334. He raced ahead of eventual winner William Byron but suddenly slowed with white smoke pouring out of both sides of his No. 11 Toyota.
Now, @dennyhamlin goes behind the wall with mechanical issues of his own. pic.twitter.com/RL2eLFotr7
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 26, 2025
Hamlin immediately headed to the garage as the elimination race continued. He finished the day in 35th place, but like Briscoe, he already had a spot in the Championship 4. Hamlin punched his ticket by winning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to open the Round of 8.
This engine issue continued a string of problems for Hamlin and the No. 11 team, which included a starter issue during Martinsville qualifying. He had power steering issues at Kansas Speedway and a stuck throttle at Talladega Superspeedway.
"I'm obviously concerned, but there obviously nothing I can do about it," Hamlin said at Martinsville. "We'll live with it and hopefully we'll get back next week and we are just going to have to see how it goes.
"I'm confident in the speed that we'll have next week. I'm really confident in what this team is going to bring next week and we'll bring our best, hopefully it lasts."
