23XI Racing (pronounced twenty-three eleven) is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. It is owned and operated by Hall of Fame basketball player Michael Jordan, along with current Joe Gibbs Racing driver and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin. The team name represents a combination of Michael Jordan's No. 23 he wore during most of his NBA career and Denny Hamlin's No. 11 which he has driven his entire career in the Cup series.[3] The organization fields the Nos. 23, 35, and 45 Toyota teams full-time for drivers Bubba Wallace, Riley Herbst, and Tyler Reddick. They currently have a technical alliance with JGR.[4]
During the summer of 2020, rumors swirled that Michael Jordan intended on purchasing an ownership stake in Richard Petty Motorsports, who fielded the only black driver in the NASCAR Cup Series, Bubba Wallace. Such claims were repeatedly denied by Jordan's management team.[5][6]
On September 8, 2021, veteran motorsports executive Steve Lauletta was named team president after serving as the interim president since the team's foundation.[1]
On July 12, 2022, 23XI Racing announced that two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Tyler Reddick signed with the team for the 2024 season.[7] On July 23, 2022, Hamlin announced that starting in 2023, 23XI would have its own pit crews instead of leasing them from Joe Gibbs Racing.[8]
In May, 2024, 23XI opened its doors to their brand new state-of-the-art facility known as "Airspeed" in Huntersville, North Carolina.[9] Airspeed is the headquarters for 23XI, where they prepare their racecars for the upcoming races. There is much more to Airspeed then just a race shop, fans can visit the location to get tours and see memorabilia, as well as purchase fan gear. When looking at NASCAR race shops, 23XI is ahead of the game with their revolutionary shop called "Airspeed".
On October 2, 2024, it was announced that 23XI Racing, along with Front Row Motorsports, filed an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR over the terms of the updated charter agreement, as well as anti-competitive practices committed by the France family.[10][11]
On September 21, 2020, Jordan and Denny Hamlin announced the formation of a Cup team to begin competition in 2021 with Jordan as majority owner, Hamlin as minority owner, and Wallace, who eleven days prior had announced his departure from Richard Petty Motorsports, as their first official driver.[12][13] The team bought a guaranteed starting spot in every 2021 race by purchasing a charter from Germain Racing.[14] The team's name, car number and manufacturer were not revealed at the time of the announcement.[15] Hamlin later said that the two had discussed owning a team but that it never came to fruition.[16] On October 22, the team announced its name, 23XI Racing, and would use the number 23 (Jordan's number during his basketball career).[17][18] On October 30, the team revealed that they will run Toyotas with a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing (whose No. 11 car is driven by Hamlin) and operate out of a shop owned (and formerly used) by Germain Racing.[4] On December 14, 23XI Racing announced that DoorDash, McDonald's, Columbia Sportswear, Dr Pepper, and Root, Inc. will be the sponsors of the No. 23 team in 2021. It was also announced that several crew members of the former Germain operation would join the team as a pit crew.[19] On February 3, it was announced that former Germain driver Ty Dillon (who attempted to make the Daytona 500 with fellow Toyota team Gaunt Brothers Racing) would run the car in the 2021 Busch Clash, as Wallace was not eligible to run the clash.[20]
Wallace finished second in his Duel and finished 17th at the 2021 Daytona 500 after being involved in a last-lap crash. At the Daytona road course he had troubles all day and finished 26th. Wallace struggled out the gate until Phoenix, which was his first strong run of the season. Wallace was running top 15 for most of the day before working his way into the top 10. Following a caution and most of the field pitting, while Wallace stayed out, he restarted first. This move did not work out well for Wallace. Due to him being on old tires and the rest of the field being on new tires, Wallace was quickly cycled out of the first position, dropped back, and wound up making contact with Cole Custer. He ended up finishing 16th.[21] At the 2021 GEICO 500 at Talladega, Wallace had a strong car the entire day. Wallace was running top 10 for a good portion of the day and ended up winning stage 2. This was Wallace's first career stage win. After an overtime restart, Wallace was cycled to the back of the pack and wound up finishing 19th. At Dover, Wallace finished 11th. At Pocono, Wallace finished the first race in 14th, but finished the second race fifth, scoring the team's best finish and their first top-five. He finished third at the 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona, but he was officially scored with a second-place finish after Chris Buescher was disqualified post-inspection.[22] On September 16, Bootie Barker was named crew chief for the remainder of the season after Wheeler was promoted to Director of Competition.[23] Wallace scored his first career win at the rain-shortened 2021 YellaWood 500 at Talladega, becoming only the second Black driver after Wendell Scott to win a Cup race.[24] Wallace finished the season 21st in points.
After failing to make the driver playoffs at Daytona, it was announced that Ty Gibbs would switch to the No. 23 to allow Wallace to compete in the owners championship with the No. 45. At the Texas playoff race, Gibbs veered into Ty Dillon on pit road, nearly sending Dillon towards a NASCAR official and a group of pit crew members; he was subsequently fined US$75,000 and the No. 23 was docked 25 owner points.[28] At Phoenix, Daniel Hemric substituted for Gibbs after the death of his father, Coy Gibbs.[29] Hemric finished 17th.[30]
Wallace started the 2023 season with a 20th-place finish at the 2023 Daytona 500. He improved his finishes enough to make the playoffs for the first time in his career.[31] Wallace was eliminated from the Round of 12 at the conclusion of the Charlotte Roval race.[32]
During the 2024 season, Wallace was fined US$50,000 for intentionally door-slamming Alex Bowman during the cool-down lap after the Chicago street race.[33] Following the Martinsville playoff race, the No. 23 was docked 50 owner and driver points and Wallace and the team were each fined US$100,000 for race manipulation, when Wallace faked a tire failure and slowed down to allow fellow Toyota driver Christopher Bell to pass him in an attempt to make the Championship 4. In addition, Barker was suspended for the Phoenix finale.[34]
On August 27, 2021, 23XI Racing announced that Kurt Busch will pilot the No. 45 Toyota Camry in 2022 (With the number 45 being a reference to a jersey number Jordan wore during his baseball career and for 23 games during the 1994–95 NBA season.)[37][38] His long time sponsor Monster Energy would follow him over. Following the end of the 2021 season, 23XI purchased the former StarCom Racing's charter for US$13.5 million, making it the most expensive charter purchase since the implementation of the system in 2016.[39]
Busch began his 2022 season with a 19th-place finish at the 2022 Daytona 500. Despite a promising start with top-five finishes at Phoenix and Atlanta, he suffered from poor finishes at COTA, Richmond, Bristol dirt, Dover, and Darlington. However, he rebounded with a win at Kansas.[40] At the Pocono race, Busch was not medically cleared after a crash during qualifying, and subsequently missed the last five races of the regular season.[41][42][43][44] Xfinity Series driver Ty Gibbs substituted Busch for the next six races. He finished 16th at Pocono and 17th at Indianapolis.[45] A 10th-place finish at Michigan earned Gibbs his first top-10 finish.[46] The following week at Richmond, Gibbs finished 36th, last due to an engine failure.[47] Gibbs finished 26th at Watkins Glen. On August 25, Busch announced he withdrew his request for a playoff waiver.[48]
Six days later, it was announced that Bubba Wallace would swap rides with Gibbs as the No. 45 entry is still eligible for the owner's championship.[49][50] Wallace finished ninth at Darlington to open the playoffs. He scored his second career win at Kansas.[51] On October 16, Busch announced he would step away from full-time competition in 2023, with the possibility of running the season on a part-time basis.[52] At Las Vegas, Kyle Larson charged aggressively past Kevin Harvick and Wallace, causing Wallace to scrape the outside wall. Wallace retaliated with a right rear hook on Larson, wrecking both cars down the frontstretch and severely damaging Christopher Bell's car in the process. During the caution, Wallace engaged in a shoving match with Larson.[53] Wallace was suspended for one race for the incident; John Hunter Nemechek was assigned to drive the No. 45 at Homestead.[54]
On October 15, 2022, 23XI Racing announced that it bought out the remainder of Tyler Reddick's contract from Richard Childress Racing to replace Kurt Busch in the No. 45 for the 2023 season. Reddick originally signed with 23XI for 2024, but Busch's concussion and subsequent retirement from full-time competition led to this move.[55]
Reddick started the 2023 season with a 39th place DNF at the 2023 Daytona 500. A month later, he scored his first win of the season at COTA in triple overtime.[56] On May 16, NASCAR docked the No. 45 team 10 owner and driver points for unapproved ballasts during inspection prior to qualifying at Darlington.[57] During the playoffs, Reddick won at Kansas to advance to the Round of 12.[58]
Reddick started the 2024 season with a 29th place DNF at the 2024 Daytona 500. He scored his first win of the season at Talladega by overtaking Brad Keselowski on the final stretch after Keselowski spun Michael McDowell and triggered a multi-car crash.[59] He scored his second win of the season at Michigan.[60] Following the Southern 500, Reddick clinched the regular season championship, beating Kyle Larson by just one point.[61] During the playoffs, he locked himself into the Championship 4 by winning at Homestead.[62]
On January 17, 2023, 23XI announced that Travis Pastrana would attempt to enter the No. 67 Toyota Camry for the 2023 Daytona 500 with sponsorship coming from Black Rifle Coffee Company.[63] On February 14, Pastrana made the entry field by scoring the second fastest lap among the non-chartered teams.[64] He suffered an accident in the qualifying duel and started in the back for the race.[65] Pastrana ended up finishing 11th in the race.[66] On June 7, it was announced that Kamui Kobayashi would make his Cup debut in the No. 67 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, he would end up finishing 33rd in the race after getting caught up in several wrecks.[67]
On March 13, 2024, it was announced that Kobayashi would once again compete in a race for the team, this time at COTA.[68] The car number will race as the No. 50 instead of the No. 67 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of sponsor Mobil 1. The team plans to run the No. 50 for two more races during the season with different drivers.[69]
On May 10, 2024, 23XI Racing announced that Corey Heim would drive the No. 50 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry at Nashville Superspeedway.[70] Heim finished 29th after crashing out in one of five overtimes.
On August 2, 2024, the team announced that Juan Pablo Montoya would make his NASCAR Cup Series return for 23XI at Watkins Glen on September 15.[71] This will be the 3rd and final start for the No. 50 Mobil 1 entry in 2024. Montoya finished 32nd in his return to stock car racing.[72]
James Dennis Alan Hamlin is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing. He also co-owns and operates 23XI Racing with basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan.
Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professional stock car racing organization founded by Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs. His son, J. D. Gibbs, ran the team with him until his death in 2019. Founded in Huntersville, North Carolina, in 1992. JGR has won five Cup Series championships.
Aric Michael Almirola is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the Nos. 19 and 20 Toyota Supras for Joe Gibbs Racing and the No. 16 Toyota Tundra for Hattori Racing Enterprises in the NASCAR Truck Series. Almirola previously competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series as well as what are now the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East and ARCA Menards Series West.
Robert Aldridge "Bootie" Barker III is an American professional stock car racing crew chief who currently works for 23XI Racing as the crew chief for the No. 23 Toyota Camry XSE driven by Bubba Wallace in the NASCAR Cup Series. In the past, Barker has worked for Ashton Lewis, Bill Davis Racing, Jasper Motorsports, Hendrick Motorsports and Germain Racing. Barker was also a television co-host on NASCAR Performance, a weekly program on the now-defunct Speed Channel.
David B. Rogers is an American NASCAR crew chief who works as the performance director for 23XI Racing. He previously worked as a crew chief for Joe Gibbs Racing in both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series as well as the technical director for JGR's Xfinity operations. He has over a decade of experience as a crew chief, all with JGR. Over the course of his career, he has worked in the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series with drivers Jason Leffler, Denny Hamlin, Aric Almirola, Tony Stewart, Travis Kittleson, J. J. Yeley, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Brad Coleman, Matt DiBenedetto, Michael McDowell, Carl Edwards, Daniel Suárez, Matt Tifft, Kyle Benjamin, Riley Herbst, and Daniel Hemric. Hemric and Rogers won the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.
William Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr. is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 23 Toyota Camry XSE for 23XI Racing.
John Hunter Nemechek is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE for Legacy Motor Club and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 20 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing and the No. 26 Toyota Supra for Sam Hunt Racing. He is the son of NASCAR driver Joe Nemechek and was the 2012 champion in the Allison Legacy Series.
Tyler George Reddick is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry XSE for 23XI Racing, and part-time in the No. 26 Toyota Supra for Sam Hunt Racing. He is a two-time champion in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, winning consecutive titles in 2018 and 2019. In 2018, Reddick set a NASCAR record at Daytona for the closest finish in NASCAR Xfinity Series history by 0.0004 seconds.
Billy Scott is an American NASCAR crew chief who works for 23XI Racing as the crew chief for their No. 45 Toyota Camry driven by Tyler Reddick.
Michael Carl Wheeler, also known by his nickname "Wheels", is a former American NASCAR Crew Chief and is the current Director of Competition for 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series.
The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series was the 72nd season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 49th season for the modern era Cup Series. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the Busch Clash, the Bluegreen Vacations Duel qualifying races, and the 62nd running of the Daytona 500. The regular season ended with the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona on August 29. The NASCAR playoffs ended with the Season Finale 500, the first finale at Phoenix Raceway on November 8.
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series was the 73rd season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 50th season for the modern era Cup Series. The season started at Daytona International Speedway with the Busch Clash, where it was the first year that the non-points event was run on the track's road course layout instead of the oval. That race was followed by the Bluegreen Vacations Duel qualifying races, and the 63rd running of the Daytona 500, the first points race of the season. The regular season also ended at Daytona with the 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400 on August 28, where Kyle Larson won the Regular Season Championship. Following the 2021 Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 31, Chevrolet claimed its 40th Manufacturer's Championship and its first since 2015. The NASCAR playoffs ended with the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on November 7 with Larson earning his first Cup Series championship after a 10-win season.
The Next Gen car, originally known as the Gen-7 car, is the common name for the racecar that is currently in use in the NASCAR Cup Series. Its use began with the 2022 season. A further evolution of the Generation 6 car, the Next Gen features "improved" aero and downforce packages while introducing new technologies on the track. In addition, the Next Gen is designed to lower costs and attract new original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to compete with Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota.
The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series was the 74th season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 51st season for the modern Cup Series. The 2022 season marked the debut of the Next Gen Car, which was originally supposed to debut in 2021, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, this was the first season to have races covered by USA Network, which took over for the now-defunct NBCSN.
The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series was the 75th season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 52nd season for the modern-era Cup Series. The season started with the Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on February 5. That race was followed by the Daytona Duel qualifying races and the 65th running of the Daytona 500 on February 19, both at Daytona International Speedway. The season ended with the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on November 5.
Benjamin Edwin Beshore is an American NASCAR crew chief at Legacy Motor Club. He is currently the crew chief for Erik Jones of the No. 43 Toyota Camry in the NASCAR Cup Series. He had previously been with Joe Gibbs Racing.
The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series was the 76th season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 53rd season for the modern-era Cup Series. The pre-season started with the Busch Light Clash on February 3 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Clash would then be followed by the Bluegreen Vacations Duel qualifying races on February 15. The season would then officially kick off with the 66th running of the Daytona 500 on February 19, both at Daytona International Speedway. The season ended with the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on November 10.
The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series saw 36 chartered teams and several open entries compete throughout the season.
The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series will be the 77th season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 54th season for the modern-era Cup Series. The season will start with the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on February 2 at Bowman Gray Stadium, followed by the Bluegreen Vacations Duel on February 13, and the 67th running of the Daytona 500 on February 16, both at Daytona International Speedway. The season will end with the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on November 2.
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