23XI Racing are only in their fourth full season and already find themselves competing for a championship! The Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin co-owned team has held their own against the top dogs of NASCAR, be it Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, or Team Penske. Tyler Reddick, after a splendid regular season, won his first regular-season championship in the Cup Series.

While Reddick entered the playoffs with the same momentum, his campaign had several ups and downs. But when he found himself in the elimination zone in the round of 8, he rose to the occasion, won the Homestead race, and booked a spot in the championship 4. But yet again Bubba Wallace being involved in race manipulation at Martinsville, Reddick won’t have key members of the #23 team to his aid. Which has left Reddick a little disappointed ahead of the season finale.

Tyler Reddick on how the #23 team’s suspension affects him

In the Martinsville race, Christopher Bell needed a position to gain in his battle with William Byron for the championship 4 spot. Bell, trailing by one point, had his Toyota colleague, Wallace, to his aid as the #23 suddenly slowed down to let the #20 pass him on the final stretch. While the Wallace faction blamed a tire problem for slowing down, NASCAR is not buying it, as the team has been penalized for race manipulation. Wallace has been fined $100,000 along with getting 50 points docked from the season and his team has to pay an additional $100,000 fine.

But not just that, Bubba Wallace‘s crew chief, Bootie Barker, spotter Freddie Kraft, and racing executive Dave Rogers have been suspended for the Phoenix race. Rogers is also the completion director for the 23XI Racing and his suspension can cost dearly to Reddick. Earlier, the 23XI racing decided to appeal the penalty but has rolled back since the Phoenix race is much more crucial than this. Their statement read, “We disagree with the penalty ruling and strongly believe we did not break any rules at Martinsville. It is our conclusion that it is in our best interests, and those of our team members, partners and fans to fully devote our personnel and resources this week toward the championship and not an appeal.”

At a time when Tyler Reddick needs all hands on deck for him to win a championship, this problem has arrived. The #45 driver recently spoke about how he’ll miss the #23 guys in what is perhaps the most important race for him. Reddick, ahead of the Phoenix race, said, “Feel like we have good depth. We got great people. Personally I wish Dave and Bootie were here. But personally I feel Dave does a really good job with his role. Bootie is a great leader of his team and they will be able to do what you need this weekend. Yeah, so I guess personally I wish that they were here.”

Yes, the original #23 team will not only be missed because they would be best suited to help the #45 in the race whenever needed, but also because if they win the championship, Reddick won’t be able to celebrate with them. “I mean Bootie is just an awesome guy to be around. So you know I will certainly miss him this weekend and getting no Dave over here. Yeah I like having him around too but you know there have been weekends when we have gone to race tracks and Dave isn’t there. So I think we’ll be fine. We’ll be okay. But again personally I wish they were here if things go well for us to celebrate together,” Reddick added.

However, 23XI, in their replacement, has Eric Phillips as the crew chief for the #23 team. Phillips is one of the winningest crew chiefs in the NASCAR Truck Series, having won 44 times. He plays a key role in the 23XI Racing shop operations and was the crew chief for the team’s No. 50 car for its races last year. As for the spotter position, veteran spotter TJ Bell has taken the baton from Kraft.

And Barker missing Phoenix means his time with the Wallace faction has come to an end as the season finale was supposed to be his last race!

Not the end Bootie Barker would have wanted

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Barker has been in NASCAR for 25 years, and his first Cup Series victory came with Wallace at the Talladega race in 2021, which was his 484th career start as a Cup crew chief. Before this Barker was crew chief for Haas CNC Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing. He was also part of Joe Gibbs Racing as part of Riley Herbst’s team in the ARCA series. However, Barker had the most success with the #23 team where he won his second Cup race in 2022 at Kansas Speedway.

In a previous statement, the 23XI racing had said, “23XI Racing announced today that veteran crew chief Bootie Barker will call his final race with Bubba Wallace and the No. 23 team at the season finale at Phoenix Raceway.” However, his journey with the team as crew chief will not end on a high note thanks to the suspension. For the next season, Barker will be replaced by Charles Denike, the current crew chief for the No. 19 truck team at McAnally-Hilgemann Racing in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. The #19 is Christian Eckes, who is currently competing for the Championship, just like Reddick!

However, according to the team, Barker will remain with 23XI and continue to work with the competition leadership team to prepare cars and strategize for races. Stating the reasons for the role switch, Dave Rogers said, “As we began to review the next season, we decided that Bootie’s experience would best serve the organization in a different role based at Airspeed. His input will continue to be an asset to our teams. We’re excited to welcome Charles to the organization and look forward to getting started with him at the end of the season. He will be a terrific addition to the No. 23 team and 23XI as we continue to work to be better.”

Well, now all the attention of the 23XI Racing will be on Reddick winning the championship. Do you think he can give the young team their first title? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.