Kevin Harvick: Time is now for Denny Hamlin, Chris Gabehart deserves a ton of credit

Kevin Harvick believes the combination of Denny Hamlin and Chris Gabehart could be a title-winning one for the No. 11 team in 2024.

Following Hamlin’s victory at Bristol, Harvick took some time to heap praise of Hamlin and his crew chief, elaborating on why Gabehart’s calming presence after a tough weekend at Phoenix helped lead the No. 11 to Victory Lane in Tennessee.

“Well I can tell you, it’s the year right now. They should have won last week too. They had a shot to win last week, and Denny spun out,” Harvick said, via the latest episode of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour. “That was one of my favorite speeches that I’ve heard from from Chris Gabehart. Just saying ‘Hey, stuff happens, and we need to regroup. Get everything we can out of the day.’ And here they are, the very next week in Victory Lane, in some very unique circumstances.

“But Denny’s led all five races this year. Been in contention at most every race in some way, shape or form at some point. And I love his crew chief. I think Chris Gabehart is just one of those special guys that is just super detail oriented. The way he talks and speaks to Denny, and the way they discuss things is very straightforward.”

Harvick knows a thing or two about what a good crew chief can do for a driver, and the former NASCAR champion believes Gabehart is the straw that stirs the drink for the No. 11 team, and it could lead to a championship this season.

“I think that you know, sometimes Denny can be one of those guys that doesn’t think you know what you’re talking about. If you show any weaknesses of what you’re talking about, he can — he can get there, get something up on you. And that is just not the case,” Harvick added. “You can see the respect, and hear the respect from Denny towards Chris. And anything that Chris says to Denny is just like, ‘Yes sir. Yeah, I’m gonna do it.’ He’s telling me, I believe it. And if he’s telling me to drive off the cliff, I’m gonna go drive off the cliff and that’s the, that’s what you want in that driver, crewchief combination. Just that, that willingness to just lay in front of a truck if he tells you to lay in front of a truck, or drive it off a cliff if he tells you to drive it off a cliff, and they have that.

“They have 100% belief in each other, and with the way that all those Gibbs cars ran at Phoenix, and winning this week, and how well they’ve performed. I think he’s got a shot this year.”

It remains to be seen if Denny Hamlin can join Kevin Harvick as a NASCAR Cup Series champion, but Chris Gabehart is giving it his all, and it’s helping the No. 11 team reach their full potential thus far in 2024.