Published 11/15/2022, 6:15 AM EST
Without a doubt, the team to look out for in 2023 is the 23XI Racing team. The Michael Jordan-Denny Hamlin-owned NASCAR team began to show that with consistency, they could very easily be a championship contender team as Bubba Wallace began hitting to his marks in the second half of the season.
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Although the team would hope that the #23 driver starts off where he left off, having someone like Tyler Reddick in the other car will only help their overall cause as a team.
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In fact, Reddick’s arrival is being seen by many as one of the biggest advantages to 23XI simply considering how talented and promising the now former Richard Childress Racing driver is, something Austin Dillon recently emphasized on as well.
The #3 driver reflected on Michael Jordan’s new driver as “a great teammate throughout“, someone who “brought speed instantly” and “a new mentality” on the track.
“I feel like it was big. He’s just got a lot of good things that came with having him as a teammate. We worked well together. Obviously, this year, I think any time on the track, we had each other’s back, and we pushed each other to be better,” Dillon described.
“He was a great part of our organization for the time he’s been here, and we’ve got a good friendship and hopefully he has a good career ahead of him where he’s going, and I’m happy for him.”
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Bubba Wallace has some “stuff to work on” according to his 23XI Racing boss
Speaking after his driver’s controversial incident in Las Vegas that earned him a one-race suspension, Denny Hamlin claimed Bubba Wallace, while getting better behind the wheel of a racecar, still has some sorting out to do outside of it.
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“He knows he’s still got some stuff to work on when he gets out of the race car,” Hamlin said of Wallace.
LAS VEGAS, NV – OCTOBER 16: Bubba Wallace (#45 23XI Racing MoneyLion Toyota) has an altercation with Kyle Larson (#5 Hendrick Motorsports HendrickCars.com Chevrolet) after Wallace collided into Larson during the South Point 400 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race on October 16, 2022, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, NV. (Photo by Jeff Speer/LVMS/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The #11 driver claimed Wallace knows where he stands, where his team stands, and the values they “want to present on the racetrack,” something he clearly didn’t do.
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“In the grand scheme of things, we’re very happy with his progress,” he emphasized.