BRISTOL, Tenn. — Amid the intense charter negotiations with NASCAR, 23XI Racing made a step toward solidifying its future this week.
The team, co-owned by Denny Hamlin and basketball legend, announced a multi-year contract extension to keep Bubba Wallace in the No. 23 Toyota Camry.
Wallace, who’s been with the organization since its inception in 2021, has two victories in four seasons but just one trip to the playoffs. Both of his victories came during the final 10 races (2021 Talladega, 2022 Kansas) but as a non-playoff driver. He advanced to the round of 12 last year after qualifying on points but failed to return this year.
As thrilled as Hamlin is to have Wallace return, he made it clear that he expects more out of the 30-year-old from Mobile, Ala.
“The 23 team needs to make the playoffs every year,” Hamlin said, addressing the media at Bristol Motor Speedway. “I think that is our expectation, and then make a deep run and finish in the top 10 in points. That is kind of our expectation of kind of where we are at. Just getting in, it is hard for me to say that is the only expectation, but it is an expectation given the standards we are giving ourselves. He knows that he needs to get better.”
Though Wallace finished the regular season better in points compared to last year, he ultimately fell 27 markers short of consecutive playoff bids. Much of that falls on inconsistencies early in the season. He had two five-race stretches without a top 10, including back-to-back crashes at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway and Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway in the spring.
Wallace performed much better in the summer, finishing 13th or better in six of the final eight regular-season races. But it was too little, too late, and a crash at Michigan Int’l Speedway in August parlayed with two new winners in the final two races served as the icing on the cake.
“I think he has gotten better, so as long as he continues that – last year, when he made it on driver points, he was 14th, this year, 12th,” Hamlin explained. “While it won’t look great in the final box score, because once you get in, who knows where you go, your floor is only 16th – this year, it is going to look worse than last year, but we know that given the stats he has had, the laps that he has led – everything has improved over what he had last year, just have to take the next step.”
Wallace is tracking to finish the season with career highs in top fives and top 10s, currently tied in both categories with each of the last two years. His average finish is 16.3 with only 2023 bettering that (15.9).
For reference, Wallace had just nine top 10s in three full-time seasons with Richard Petty Motorsports. He’s at 10 entering Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol.
“I think his willingness to continue to learn is something that I see that is very, very positive,” Hamlin said. “Not that he didn’t in the past, I think his willingness to put himself out there in vulnerable situations to ask for help when he needs it has been very encouraging, and certainly, we’ve seen from my standpoint more pace on road course, more pace at tracks typically that he wasn’t as fast at, that he needed to be.
“I think all of that is good. His feedback has gotten better. That is very, very important. As long as he continues on that trajectory, he will be fine.”
Hamlin confirmed that 23XI Racing’s stance on the charter dispute hasn’t changed with Wallace’s extension. The team will field at least two cars next year with regular-season champion Tyler Reddick returning in the No. 45 entry. 23XI Racing has shown interest in acquiring another charter for a third full-time team, but nothing has been confirmed.