Denny Hamlin and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates swept up the 4-5-6 spots ensuring multiple top-10s heading out of a Kansas encounter. However, Denny’s race team, 23XI Racing, and its drivers displayed a surprisingly contrasting scenario at a racetrack where the #45 entry had won three out of the first five outings in NASCAR’s Next Gen car.

Many eyes were indeed on 23XI last week, but the #45 ended its day at a meager P20, while the #23’s outing was only three spots better, at P17. This was even more surprising considering Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace registered some of the fastest speeds during practice. Yet qualifying was a completely different picture, and so was the actual event. Now Denny Hamlin has made some harsh observations, only hours before the Lady in Black showdown.

Denny Hamlin lights a fire under 23XI after a disappointing week at Kansas

As Darlington 2024 returns with the Goodyear 400, 23XI also appear to have regained their form. Reddick will lead the pack from the green after winning his first-ever pole at the Track ‘Too Tough To Tame’, while Wallace’s #23 will roll off the grid in P8 alongside Denny Hamlin himself in Row 4. The stage is set for some much-anticipated action that might even pit 23XI’s co-owner against his drivers.

But 23XI Racing is more than just a race team venture for Denny Hamlin. It is a part of the #11 driver’s heart and soul. As many will know, the ‘23XI’ name itself, is a clever design paying its tribute to Denny’s longtime number with JGR and co-owner Michael Jordan’s iconic #23 jersey, donned during his Airness’ glorious tenure with the Chicago Bulls. Hence, when it comes to his ventures in the ‘shot-caller’ seat, Denny does not mess about.

After qualifying in P7 for the Goodyear 400 at Darlington, the owner/driver explained his current perspectives within the 23XI race shop with strong words of encouragement assessing his drivers’ recent performances. Denny told Bob Pockrass of FOX, “It was a disappointing week (after Kansas). It was a long week. We definitely downloaded a lot over the week of what led to that type of performance for those cars and think we’ve got a good grasp on it. So I think everyone’s gonna be better for it.

He then concluded with another bombshell targeted toward Reddick and Wallace, hoping for a better performance this Sunday in Darlington, “I think sometimes you need these wake-up calls that you gotta get better, you’re not as good as you think you are. So I think those guys certainly took it to heart and they’re working really hard. I know that they’ve worked really hard this weekend to get cars that are handling good. Looks like they got that .”

At first glance, it does look like 23XI Racing has indeed ‘got that’ speed when it comes to one of the most unpredictable racetracks gracing NASCAR’s calendar since 1950. Nevertheless, the drivers are wary of the expectations and challenges as they prepare to make another mark for Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin in 2024. 

Reddick & Wallace ‘wake up” in Darlington

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Tyler Reddick has three podium finishes at Darlington in the Next Gen era. Consequently, Bubba Wallace boasts three consecutive top-10 finishes at the 1.366-mile racetrack. In other conversations with Bob Pockrass, Wallace reflected on the ’contact-related’ misfortunes plaguing his #23 team for the past few weeks. 

He expressed an alternative perspective on Denny’s initial statements, “I think we’re a thousand points out at this point…. But yeah, I mean our speed is there. Last week we missed it. I mean look at us and the #45. Last week we made our best tracks into one of our worst tracks. So we had a lot of discussion about that. That’s behind us… Previous two weeks, Just caught up in the wrong stuff at the wrong time….”

Darlington’s throwback weekend’s pole-winner, Reddick, emphasized and elaborated further on his teammate’s emotions, “It seemed, to some extent, the speed was there but we were missing some other things. But knowing the speed the #11 and the other Toyotas had. Yeah, it hurt. But these things happen in racing. We certainly learned a lot from it. We definitely had a lot of takeaways from it,” added Tyler Reddick.

Regardless, itching for his season’s second victory after Talladega, the #45 driver continued to lay out a warning for the rest of the field. He declared, “You never wanna go on a track that you have a good track record at, and run that bad. But we learned a lot from it. And when we go back when it matters a lot in the playoffs. We’ll have a lot to go off of…”

With the Goodyear 400 peeking from around the corner, it will be interesting to see the battles play out for 293 laps over approximately 400 miles of racing in Southern Carolina. Will Denny Hamlin’s race team upset his driver ventures and a shot at his season’s fourth win or upset him by trailing at the end of the pack?