“I Was Expecting Just a Little More”- Dale Earnhardt Jr Still Not Sold on Denny Hamlin’s Driver Choice

2023 was an important year for Denny Hamlin as a team owner. Along with NBA legend Michael Jordan, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver owns 23XI Racing. The team had a transformative season this year after getting both their drivers in the playoffs. Bubba Wallace ended up getting eliminated in the round of 12 and Tyler Reddick went as far as the round of 8. While most people would consider that to be decent seasons for both drivers, Dale Earnhardt Jr has reservations about one.

When it comes to statistics, Tyler Reddick was the better of the two 23XI Racing drivers. The 27-year-old, in his first season with the team, won a couple of races and established himself as a road course expert. He took a fantastic victory in the round of 16 in Kansas and one at the iconic Circuit of the Americas in the regular season. But that was still not enough to impress someone like Dale Earnhardt Jr.

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While both Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan must be proud of what Reddick achieved in his first season with the team, Dale Earnhardt Jr is not convinced. However, that might have something to do with Hamlin only. On a recent episode of the Dale Jr Download podcast, the 49-year-old said that it was the 23XI owner who hyped Reddick up to him.

In the end, Junior felt like the 27-year-old driver did not live up to that hype. However, there was a condition upon which the JR Motorsports owner said that he would consider 2023 to be a good season for Tyler Reddick.

“Tyler Reddick, 2 wins, 460 laps led. I’ll be honest man, I was expecting just a little more. I’m not super disappointed with Tyler’s season, sixth in points, and sort of gelling with the new team. A new organization but, Denny Hamlin sold me on his talent, his ability. He’s like, man, for 23XI to become this dynasty, we gotta make this hire, we gotta make this kind of hire,” Dale Earnhardt Jr said.

“I will be okay with this year if Tyler can go into next season and win me 3 or 4 races and push toward that final 4, that championship 4. Then maybe I will look at this year like, hey man, good solid start to a long long tenure with 23XI,” he added.

The task of adapting to a new team environment is a huge factor in a driver’s performance in their first season with the team. Had Tyler Reddick been at Richard Childress Racing, maybe he would have earned more race victories. But the 27-year-old had to quit the team.

In a recent episode of the Actions Detrimental podcast, the unapologetic 23XI Racing owner revealed the torrid conditions RCR was threatening to put Reddick in, exposing the tough environment in one of NASCAR’s most successful outfits.

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Denny Hamlin revealed that Richard Childress Racing was pondering taking Tyler Reddick out of the #8 car and putting him in a much less competitive third car. A move like that would have ruined the 27-year-old’s career and it is quite a shocking revelation.

“They were threatening to put Tyler in a really bad car. Basically, take him out of the #8 and put him in a terrible third car,” Hamlin said while speaking about Reddick’s last few months in the team.

But things turned out for the better for Tyler Reddick and Denny Hamlin, both of whom seem happy to work with each other. 23XI Racing impressed fans and experts this year and everyone will be waiting with excitement to see how they perform in 2024.

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