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BRISTOL, TN – SEPTEMBER 16: Bubba Wallace (#45 23XI Racing MoneyLion Toyota) talks to a crew member during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Bass Pro Shops Night Race on September 16, 2022, at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, TN.(Photo by Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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BRISTOL, TN – SEPTEMBER 16: Bubba Wallace (#45 23XI Racing MoneyLion Toyota) talks to a crew member during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Bass Pro Shops Night Race on September 16, 2022, at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, TN.(Photo by Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Kyle Busch’s divorce from Joe Gibbs Racing was one of the biggest events in 2022. But the veteran found a place to go when Richard Childress Racing invited the 2-time Cup Series winner to their stables. And one common link – Bubba Wallace connected all of this.
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Joe Gibbs Racing decided to let Kyle Busch go as “they have other irons in the fire”. Richard Childress Racing pounced on the opportunity to welcome a serial winner to their team, but they, too, needed a vacant seat to place him.
Although Kurt Busch was to be replaced in 2024 by Tyler Reddick, the injury meant Reddick could now come in sooner. The Michael Jordan-owned team decided to buy out Reddick’s contract for 2023 with RCR.
With that saga done with, both Busch and Reddick have been acclimatizing to their new environment at RCR and 23XI, respectively. Busch had a head start owing to a lack of contractual constraints. However, Reddick had to wait a little while before he could begin his work with the team.

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FORT WORTH, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 25: Tyler Reddick, driver of the #8 Lenovo/ThinkEdge Chevrolet, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Auto Trader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on September 25, 2022 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
The little time he has got to spend with his new team, sufficiently impressed Reddick. He spoke about the (relatively) novel approach the team intends to take. Reddick said, “It’s going to be a big change — the way that they go about doing things is quite a bit different from RCR.”
He is very pumped about the future and said “It’s really exciting their approach. I think it’s the right approach.”
NASCAR is yet to be taken over by the data fever, but Denny Hamlin trusts this approach.
Bubba Wallace didn’t trust the Denny Hamlin way
Bubba, too, had been a part of several teams before he joined 23XI Racing. All those ‘conventional’ teams had followed the traditional approach, but Hamlin and Jordan shook things up with their approach.

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KANSAS CITY, KANSAS – SEPTEMBER 11: Bubba Wallace, driver of the #45 ROOT Insurance Toyota, vl the NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on September 11, 2022 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
Other sports have been using the analytics approach for a long time. Jordan’s time in the NBA is possibly one reason for the approach taken by his team. Bubba Wallace described his difficulties warming up to the alternative approach on an episode of All The Smoke.
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Wallace said, “Being a part of this team, Denny (Hamlin), who is co-owner with MJ, we race against him. He is big in the data analytics stuff, looking at film and all this stuff. I’ve never really been big on that.”
Wallace also criticized the method for “…it kind of took the art away because before it was like, ‘Man, how is Bubba driving in there, like what’s he doing?‘”. He explained how “Now all your data pops up on the screen. Well sh*t, everybody’s gonna copy what I’m doing when we’re good there.”
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Watch This Story: Like Lewis Hamilton, Daunting NASCAR Option Once Had Daniel Ricciardo Simply Saying “No”
Despite the reservations Bubba has for the data analytics approach, that’s where elite sports are moving. That is the future, and that is the way to go for teams that aim to win big.
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