HAMPTON, Ga. — As the NASCAR Cup Series reaches the midpoint of the 36-race season tonight at EchoPark Speedway, 23XI Racing continues to search for its first victory of the season.
“I just know the resources that we’ve put in at 23XI and all of our drivers should win,” co-owner Denny Hamlin said Friday at EchoPark Speedway. “That is the expectation that I have of them. Obviously, it is a result-based business, and if you don’t over time, you consider your options.”
Christopher Bell will have his third different spotter tonight since the All-Star Race in May.
The organization’s season totals are down from this time a year ago.
Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace and Riley Herbst have combined for six top-five finishes, 11 top-10 results and 197 laps led this year.
Last year Reddick and Wallace combined for one win, nine top-five finishes, 15 top 10s and 375 laps led.
Reddick has the organization’s last win, taking the checkered flag 19 races ago at Homestead in last year’s playoffs. Wallace is winless in his last 96 starts, dating back to Kansas in September 2022.
All three 23XI Racing cars had brake rotor issues last weekend at Pocono. That led to Herbst and Wallace crashing. Reddick was called to the garage briefly to examine his brake package.
“Without getting too in depth with it, it was a team oversight,” Hamlin said. “If that’s – just too aggressive. I don’t know how else to say it. They knew what they had, but they didn’t think about the implications of what they were doing set-up wise.”
Kyle Larson became the fifth driver to compete in both races on the same day this year.
That made for a difficult weekend for Wallace. He was second quick in practice but never got a chance to qualify when his car didn’t start.
“We were really fast,” Wallace said. “The confidence of getting out of the car from practice going into qualifying, hadn’t had that in a really long time. So right as I’m about to climb in, (crew chief) Charles (Denike) is like, ‘Hey, the car won’t start.’ … We didn’t get to qualify. That was the most frustrated I’ve been in a long time.
“That was like a gut punch. It was really hard to swallow it. Yes, it’s qualifying but whatever. But it took me back to a few years ago Bubba to where it’s like here we go. You ride on the momentum high and get excited and have some optimism and then you’re just smacked in the face with some BS. I woke up Sunday it was a new day.”
The In-Season Challenge will begin on the 1.54-mile drafting track.
Wallace started at the rear and then crashed in the race due to the brake rotor issue.
“ … Long story short, it was a frustrating week,” Wallace said, “super frustrating Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.”
Wallace said his mindset changed in a sponsor golf outing Thursday.
“I had a lot of fun and I was able to escape from racing for a little bit and that helped,” he said. “But we’re back at the track, so I got to keep saying it, fresh set of downs. You can’t change the past. Focus on what’s ahead.”
Kyle Larson vs. Tyler Reddick is among the intriguing first-round pairings at EchoPark Speedway.
While there have been some challenges, Hamlin said he sees progress with Wallace and his team.
“I’ve seen enough progression, specifically, from the the 23 standpoint, that I can see where this can go,” Hamlin said of Wallace’s team. “Obviously, putting himself in a playoff position year after year is good, but winning makes it better. It makes it good for the team; it makes it good for your sponsorships.
“The progression is smaller, but it is still happening with Riley (Herbst) as well. We started at the bottom of the cellar, and it is slowly but surely getting a little bit better.
“That is what I’m looking at as an owner, but certainly, I need all my cars winning at some point. There are just too many resources, too many good people over there not to win more races, and certainly, I think we’ve underperformed as far as actual winning this year. We expect more, but a lot of it – I think we carry that burden.”
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