“When Was the Last Time That Happened in the Sport?” – 23XI President Reveals Why Denny Hamlin Went on to Sign Tyler Reddick So Early

Last year, in 2022, when 23XI Racing announced they’d be signing Tyler Reddick to join them in 2024, it took many by surprise. After all, announcing a signing almost two years in advance wasn’t a very common practice, but still, the Denny Hamlin-Michael Jordan-owned team went that route.

This was something as peculiar as it was, planned in advance, or rather, an example of the way Steve Lauletta, the President of 23XI Racing, operates the team.

In a recent conversation with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Lauletta opened up on the differences between NASCAR and F1, finding the balance in a team full of big names, his role within the organization, and the mindset behind signing Reddick so early on.

Steve Lauletta on the differences between F1 and NASCAR

In a recent episode of the Dale Jr. Download, Steve Lauletta highlighted the differences between F1 and NASCAR, and how he’s balancing the brand equity within the organization with the cloud of change always hovering above.

“If you look at Formula 1 teams, most of their fans, I’m not saying all of them, most of them are team fans. Like you’re a Ferrari fan, you’re a McLaren fan. NASCAR is drivers, and maybe a little bit teams, but it’s certainly the drivers, the driver,” Lauletta said.

“I think there’s this challenge of making sure all of those brands have enough equity so one piece doesn’t make the whole puzzle fall apart.”

“You have to build all of it up…so that you don’t lose, any of those players lose in the potential of a change because change happens, that’s part of what we’re having to deal with but it’s definitely something you’ve gotta be prepared with.”

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23XI Racing’s President reasons Denny Hamlin being aggressive in signing Tyler Reddick

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Lauletta also opened up on his role in 23XI Racing as someone who has to look “at least one, if not 3-5 years,” ahead into the future. He claimed he has to do so because most of the people are focused on the weekend as that is the time when “the rubber hits the road.” 

This precisely was why Denny Hamlin decided to sign Tyler Reddick that early on to 23XI as Lauletta explained, “That’s when Denny (Hamlin) and us being aggressive in signing Tyler Reddick 19 months before we were gonna hire him. When was the last time that happened in the sport?”

“It was like, ‘Let’s get ahead of this. Let’s start to figure out where we’re going,’ so when the talent like that becomes available because he was available, you go and you get aggressive, you get it and you give yourself time to kind of build the plans around that.”

Lauletta emphasized that’s exactly what his role in the organization demands him to be focused on, that it may be “a little farther out” to plan so much ahead, but it’s important so they can stay ahead on “some of the stuff.”

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