The line between helping and betraying your own teammate was razor-thin in Talladega on Sunday. Denny Hamlin learned that the hard way when Chase Briscoe made the cutthroat decision to leave him as the last car in the bottom lane toward the end of Stage 1. On a track like Talladega, that was practically a racing death sentence, and the understandably livid No. 11 driver did not mince his words during the race. Briscoe owed him an explanation.

“Denny was, I think, at the tail end of the field,” Briscoe told veteran reporter Bob Pockrass. “The Chevys had a ton of momentum. So I just went with them. I didn’t want to slow down and get behind them and be the last car on the bottom.”

Hamlin, Briscoe, and their JGR teammate Ty Gibbs had been trying to move back through the pack after green-flag pit stops. By then, the three RFK Racing drivers had already ignored the field’s fuel-saving strategy and built a 40-second lead, effectively securing the top three spots in Stage 1. With valuable stage points up for grabs, Briscoe’s sudden decision to leave the bottom lane and join a fast-moving line of Chevrolet drivers left Hamlin stranded at the back, sparking the veteran’s frustration.

“F* 19, I’m so sick of this s. He is the f**** worst,” a frustrated Hamlin said over the team radio, referring to Briscoe.

The JGR teammates split up after Briscoe saw that the bottom lane was slowing down, so he moved to the outside to avoid falling to the back. Gibbs followed, leaving Hamlin without anyone to help him keep up. With no support from behind, Hamlin quickly lost ground, dropping 11 spots to finish the stage in 17th. Briscoe, meanwhile, finished seventh.

Gibbs, too, did not benefit from breaking the Toyota line. He ended up finishing stage 1 in 30th place. However, Joe Gibbs’ grandson did not lash out at Briscoe the way Hamlin did.

Briscoe, whose race eventually ended in a massive 15-car crash with five laps remaining, won’t have any regrets, considering he had title aspirations of his own. At a superspeedway like Talladega, drivers rely heavily on aerodynamics and drafting partners to maintain speed. When one lane slows down, switching to a faster one can make all the difference. For Briscoe, it did.

Chris Buescher won Stage 1, followed by Ryan Preece and Brad Keselowski, with Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson finishing fourth. Hamlin, who was hoping to close the gap to Larson with a strong Stage 1 finish, missed out on stage points altogether. Several factors shaped the running order, but losing his two drafting partners left the 45-year-old exposed at a critical moment.

Title fight complicates Toyota’s drafting plans

Teamwork was expected to play a big role at Talladega, and it was a major talking point before Sunday’s YellaWood 500. Drivers agreed that they would need to work together at times, but also made it clear that everyone wanted the best result for themselves. When the race began, Toyota struggled to strike that balance.

Hamlin, Briscoe, Christopher Bell, and Tyler Reddick were all title contenders driving Toyotas. Chevrolet did not face the same problem. Kyle Larson was its leading championship contender, so he could rely on help from teammates who were no longer in the title fight. Toyota’s drivers, meanwhile, had to decide whether to help their manufacturer or protect their own chances against teammates who were also direct rivals for the championship.

Joe Gibbs Racing crew chief Adam Stevens had acknowledged the issue before the race.

“That’s something that we’re going to have to battle against, and it’s a one-horse race over there (with Chevrolet). And they have the resources to put toward it. So, if it comes down to group decision-making, we’re at a disadvantage, for sure,” he said.

JGR has faced similar tensions between teamwork and individual ambition before. In 2025, Hamlin and Christopher Bell were fighting for the championship at New Hampshire when they got stuck behind their non-playoff teammate Gibbs during Stage 2. Gibbs aggressively defended 11th place, repeatedly blocking them. After several laps of contact, Hamlin lost patience and nudged the No. 54 Toyota on Lap 110, sending Gibbs spinning into the Turn 1 wall and ending his race.

Although the incident involved short-track racing rather than superspeedway drafting, it highlighted the challenge of managing teammates who are also competitors.

The underlying tension was visible in Talladega among Toyota’s drivers. Drivers had to balance helping their team with protecting their own championship chances. Even drivers who were out of title contention seemed to prioritize their own interests. Reddick was still fighting for the championship, while Bubba Wallace was not. Yet the Alabama native refused to give Reddick a push.

Neither Briscoe nor Hamlin got the result they wanted from the race. Larson won in overtime after a chaotic finish that included a late multicar wreck and Joey Logano’s car flipping over. Hamlin recovered to finish eighth, while Briscoe, who had run third in Stage 2, was caught in a late accident and finished 33rd.

Briscoe’s strong Stage 2 showing suggested that he had recovered well from his earlier decision to leave Hamlin behind. However, the late wreck ended his hopes of turning that progress into a strong finish. Hamlin, meanwhile, survived the closing chaos and brought his car home in the top 10, although Larson’s victory widened the gap at the top of the championship standings. Hamlin is currently 73 points behind Larson with two races remaining, while Bell sits 74 points back and Briscoe 79.

The No. 11 driver was clearly unhappy with what had happened and suggested that the matter would be discussed privately.

“We’re obviously talking about it tomorrow. I don’t really know which part he’s talking about. I’m assuming that’s the part. Just have to go back and watch.”

Until more details emerge from that conversation, Hamlin’s frustration over the radio alone is not enough to suggest a lasting rift between the teammates. For now, the focus will have to shift to Martinsville.