When Denny Hamlin recruited Kurt Busch for the second 23XI Racing seat, he knew that he was getting a veteran driver. However, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver underestimated how big an impact the 2004 Cup champion would have. According to the 23XI Racing co-owner, the 43-year-old is already making waves.

He said, “I underrated his talent. I worked with him at the Charlotte test. He’s not good, he’s great, he was faster than all of us the whole test, the JGR cars. He’s everything that his previous teammates said he was gonna be so far.”

Naturally, this will be very encouraging for 23XI Racing and Denny Hamlin. After all, that is why they roped him into the team, especially with the onset of the Next Gen cars. Busch’s inputs will be valuable, and teammate Bubba Wallace can learn a lot from him. Hopefully, the two talented drivers will be motivated to push each other to excel.

Can Kurt Busch truly make a difference?

In 2021, Bubba Wallace managed to overcome the odds, and Mother Nature, to win at Talladega. This would have definitely provided an impetus to the team to progress from there. As the new season approaches, Denny Hamlin is fairly confident that Kurt Busch is one of the missing puzzle pieces. Of course, the 2022 season gives the outfit a perfect chance to strike while the iron is hot.

With a Next Gen car, nobody knows what the pecking order looks like until the first race of the year. If they can interpret the rules and make the most of them, better than any other team, 23XI Racing can reap the rewards. Of course, the team will not have it easy, as the usual top-running teams would try to get their oar in first. Who knows, maybe they will take things one step at a time, starting with trying to enter the Playoffs, and progressing from there.

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