Through two races, the NASCAR Cup Series is 23XI Racing’s world and everyone else is just living in it.
Tyler Reddick has won back-to-back races to open season and leads the championship standings over his teammate, Bubba Wallace. NASCAR has made headlines all month now with team co-owner Michael Jordan celebrating on pit road following a year that challenged 23XI on the track and in the courtroom.
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But all of that is behind them now, with Reddick responding to a winless season by winning the first two, and with perfect timing too because this is his free agency walk year. It’s one where, even if you include last year, Reddick looks like a top-five driver on the merits and one that should get paid like one.
It’s just a matter of if Jordan and Denny Hamlin will be the ones to meet that moment.
“I think everyone, regardless of his season last year, would always think of Tyler Reddick as a top talent,” Hamlin said. “We picked him out many, many years ago for that reason. So, there’s no question that he’s going to have a long future here.”
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Okay, so that was a dodge, but you get the picture. How about the 1-2 championship picture?
“Yeah, you know, it’s very early, but it’s not by circumstance,” Hamlin said. “They’re running up front. They’re fast. Again, just doing a lot of the right things.
“We’re making up for lost time. Last year — obviously we talked about last week — we didn’t have the wins that we expected as a race team, but they’re making up for it right now.
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“It feels good certainly as a car owner knowing that you’ve got a couple of bullets in the gun. When the end of the race didn’t go Bubba’s way, you got another one there to pick it up. That certainly increases your odds of winning a lot of races when you’ve got multiple cars up front like we had tonight.”
This is a company that is only six years old, and yes they benefitted from the relationship with Joe Gibbs Racing and the advent of a new spec car in 2022, but Hamlin and Jordan have won 11 races over six years.
The Cup Series has a Big Three in the form of manufacturer affiliated Gibbs, Penske and Hendrick but 23XI Racing consistently is in the picture with them. Hamlin isn’t willing to call them a Big Four but he is very proud in this moment.
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“It’s too early for that. I mean, we’re many wins and championships away from that,” Hamlin said. “There’s no question that we’re building fast cars and cars that are capable of winning week in, week out. We don’t always hit the setup or things like that, but we’re working hard.
“This team being nonexistent six years ago is just amazing that we’re able to do what we did with building this thing from scratch and now having the results week in, week out that is contending with the big guys.”
Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing
Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing
For his part, Reddick is aiming to make everyone have that conversation with greater regularity.
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“For us, 2025 was not really the year we were supposed to have when you look at how we did in 2024,” Reddick said. “We should have continued what we built in 2024 and you look at the past two weeks, that’s what 2026 should look like.
“We show up every week with the intention of breaking (up) the big three teams. We want to be part of the conversation with them (and) take the competition to them. To pull it off the past two weeks is a good start.
“Yes, they are speedway races, and they are challenging to control, but I think there’s a lot to look forward to the next three races at COTA, Phoenix and Vegas too.”
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Reddick, thanks to his two wins and the increased points payout to win those races this year with the Chase for the Championship format, leads by 41 points over Wallace.
When told that, Reddick was proud but also disappointed because he felt like Wallace probably got a raw deal in the closing laps racing Carson Hocevar.
“Well, I know Bubba is not thrilled (that) its a 41 gap but for us at 23XI, we take great pride in running good everywhere and working together,” Reddick said. “I hate it for him because he had it tonight and the 77 had an opportunity to hang him out, but I think Bubba had a smoother, more efficient day and for us to be 1-2 is great.
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“His road course racing is better every year and you’re going to see that next week. Our intent is to stay there.”
Wallace, who led 46 laps on Sunday, conceded it was ‘a good points day’ and happiness that his teammate won too.
Hamlin says his drivers are racing ‘loose’ and ‘free’ with how the first two weeks have started, especially given the struggles from last season.
“I saw it after we (Reddick and Hamlin) were both in that wreck that I was in,” Hamlin said. “He comes out. His car is damaged, and he just starts shooting the middle again like his car is fine. It’s, like, well, that’s a guy that feels like he’s got nothing to lose right there.
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“Not only that, but with Bubba being two in the standings, this gets him off on the right foot for the season. I can assure you that all drivers are looking at the standings week in, week out now. There is no, well, I’ll check it ten weeks from now, five weeks from now. Everyone is looking.
“It matters, and it certainly will be a good mental check for them knowing that they’ve got this year started off on the right foot. Hopefully that allows them both to race freely and know that they’ve got a few good finishes to start the year.
“It’s just momentum. Momentum is a big thing in this sport. Sometimes when you get it going, it’s hard to stop.”
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Watch: Tyler Reddick, No. 45 team ‘extremely hungry’ for more wins
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