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via Imago

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Denny Hamlin-owned 23XI racing team has been through a lot since its inception in 2021. Pit crew problems threw a wrench in the plans of both Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick to win multiple races. For instance, in 2022 Wallace lost an entire lap as his crew left a wheel loose at a pit stop. Recently, Reddick narrowly missed a chance to snag the Las Vegas win due to a 13-second pit stop.

These technical issues arose from a reliance on Joe Gibbs Racing to lend a crew, training, and resources. However, Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan have splurged on a brand-new facility- ‘Airspeed’. 23XI people can finally work in peace and build their own crew. Additionally, the team president believes Hamlin’s vision is paying off.

Denny Hamlin accelerated team operations with a concrete plan

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Building a racing team from scratch and making it function on a Cup Series level is no minor thing. When Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan joined hands, they had their vision set. Entering their 3rd year in NASCAR, the team has come a long way, albeit with several setbacks.

The most recent one came when Tyler Reddick finished second in the Pennzoil 400 race. Reddick said immediately after the race, “Second sucks, that’s for sure, but we had a really fast Nasty Beast Camry. We should have been up there battling even more than we were throughout the day.”

USA Today via Reuters

But the team is not drooping in spirits. Team President, Steve Lauletta, recently talked to ‘Racer’ about Reddick’s prospects in future races: “Now we’ll go to Phoenix and Bristol and then we’ll go to COTA where we are the defending race winner with Tyler. We think we’ve got three more strong efforts coming at us over the next few weeks.”

He also dropped a news flash about Denny Hamlin introducing a concrete plan that is working wonders for 23XI. “I feel like we’re on the path to the five-year plan that Denny Hamlin laid out to be a consistent race-winning team and a championship-contending team.”

Lauletta also talked about ‘Airspeed’, saying, “Having our own facility that is laid out the way our competition team envisioned it and having everybody under one roof has been a fantastic next step in that journey of us building this ace team into a force to be reckoned with.” He is spending busy days at work tending to the new Airspeed race shop, NASCAR media, team sponsors, and the immediate future of the team.

 

Ever since 23XI saw the light of day, they brought something new to the table. They stood out as a NASCAR Cup team with exemplary goals.

Read More: Denny Hamlin Refuses to Snub Michael Jordan’s “Celebrity” Status as He Drops a Shocking Bruno Mars Revelation

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23XI may be the modern face among motorsports teams

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Denny Hamlin’s track record of three Daytona 500 wins added weight to 23XI as a team. But Michael Jordan’s legendary presence in the NBA attracted the attention of a whole diverse audience. Lauletta could not emphasize this better: “Whether that’s because they followed Michael Jordan’s career, or they support some of the partners that we have and they’re more casual sports fans that go, ‘Hey, that’s a NASCAR team that I can look after and cheer for.’”

Also, including Bubba Wallace spoke volumes. Wallace rose to fame with his campaigns against racial injustice, which eventually led NASCAR to ban the display of the Confederate battle flag at its tracks.

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Lauletta talked about inclusivity in 2022: “It’s part of the mission and values of this team, and it was started by what Bubba did for the sport of NASCAR in 2020. We all believe in it and we want to make it a focus of what we do as a team, and our partners believe in it.”

As 23XI progresses as a racing team with leaps and bounds, we are pumped to watch Reddick’s No. 45 and Wallace’s No. 23 rock it in the upcoming races.