Latest news with #23XIRacing
Fox News
11 hours ago
- Automotive
- Fox News
NASCAR's silly season is quiet so far ... but it's only June
BROOKLYN, Mich. — The free agency market in NASCAR seems quiet, with a couple of big names already off the board and many more expected to stay put. But with the uncertainty at 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, it could (but not definitely) change drastically if those organizations find themselves without charters amid their litigation with NASCAR. 23XI and Front Row each have three drivers and those drivers appear likely to remain with their organizations next year, as long as they remain three-car operations with guaranteed spots in the field. If the teams eventually have to race as open (with non-guaranteed spots in the field) following an appeals court ruling last week and don't have charters in 2026, theoretically they could see their drivers jump to other teams in the offseason. For now, the drivers would likely remain with their organizations: Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick and Riley Herbst at 23XI; Todd Gilliland, Zane Smith and Noah Gragson at Front Row. At 23XI, Reddick is the team leader (he won the regular-season title last year). Wallace signed a multiyear deal near the end of last year and sits 10th in the standings and appears happy there. Denny Hamlin, who co-owns 23XI Racing, said the issue of drivers leaving is not one he has sweated. "I've got so much to worry about, I'm not focused on that particularly right this second," Hamlin said. Hamlin himself isn't signed yet with Joe Gibbs Racing but is expected to ink another deal to remain with the organization. If Hamlin signs with JGR as expected, JGR would be set with the same lineup it has this year. Other top teams appear set: — Hendrick Motorsports, with William Byron signing a contract extension last month, appears set. Alex Bowman, whose contract runs through 2026, has weathered speculation he could be out and is 13th in the standings after four wrecks in the last five weeks. — Team Penske has its three drivers under contract, and Roger Penske told FOX Sports on May 31 that Austin Cindric is good for 2026 amid speculation that he could be out of a ride after his father was dismissed from the organization. "As far as Austin Cindric is concerned, I had a good talk with him," Penske said. "He's been a great young guy. ... I said, 'Austin, you've got a job to do here, you've got a contract with us and you've got a contract for next year.' "So as far as I'm concerned, we don't need to be talking about Austin Cindric [status]. We need to be talking about Austin Cindric in the winner's circle." Josh Berry, who drives for the Penske affiliate Wood Brothers Racing, has a win this year and is 17th in points and is expected to return. — Richard Childress Racing, in picking up the option last month for Kyle Busch, says it is set with its two-car stable of Busch and Austin Dillon. The biggest question mark remains at Trackhouse Racing, where Daniel Suarez is 28th in the standings. Three-time Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen is 33rd in the standings as a Cup rookie but his Cup deal was never looked at as a one-and-done. Does Suarez sign another contract to remain at Trackhouse or will Trackhouse elevate development driver Connor Zilisch, who is fifth in his rookie year in Xfinity driving for JR Motorsports (he did miss one race because of injury), to full-time Cup? "I wish I didn't have to have these conversations and I didn't have these distractions, but it's part of life," Suarez said. The issue for Suarez is that if he doesn't return to Trackhouse, there could be few options unless he has enough sponsorship to push another driver out the door. RFK Racing officials indicate they won't have any changes for next year with its three-car stable remaining with Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece. The current legal battle between Legacy Motor Club and Rick Ware Racing should not impact RFK. Charters can only be leased for one year during the seven-year charter deal. And RFK is leasing one charter from RWR this year and then will lease the charter that RWR is currently using for next year. Legacy and RWR are in court battling over whether a charter agreed to be sold to Legacy is to be done after the 2025 season or the 2026 season. Legacy's two-driver stable of Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek also appear to be safe for next year. If they add a third car, Xfinity driver Jesse Love's previous connection to Toyota could help him. While Spire has made some bold moves in previous years, they do have their three drivers — Carson Hocevar, Michael McDowell and Justin Haley — under contract for next season. Kaulig Racing with AJ Allmendinger (19th in the standings) and Ty Dillon (30th) is trending toward having its same stable. Allmendinger is pretty much locked in and talks continue on a Dillon renewal. The drivers 35th (Cole Custer at Haas Factory Team) and 36th (Cody Ware at Rick Ware Racing) both have family ties to team management. Custer's team appears to be finding more speed and certainly is one that has been in transition after the sale of much of Stewart-Haas Racing. Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
Forbes
13 hours ago
- Automotive
- Forbes
Steve Lauletta Details 23XI Racing's Growth In 2025
Bubba Wallace, driver of the No. 23 McDonald's Toyota and Tyler Reddick, driver of the No. 45 Nasty ... More Beast Toyota race during the Nascar Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 16, 2025 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) When 23XI Racing announced it was expanding to three full-time entries with the addition of rookie Riley Herbst, it showed the entire sport that this team has its eyes set on the future. The expansion raised eyebrows as 23XI expanding its existing relationship with Monster Energy, and it also gave Toyota another entry. But 23XI operates differently compared to every other team in the Nascar Cup Series. Even the company's social media appears different, having the look of an epic sports dynasty. 'We have a younger, more diverse fan base at 23XI that are interested in music, fashion, sneakers, food, art and all of those things,' 23XI Racing President Steve Lauletta said. 'We want to show up at all of those places.' Team co-owners Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan are in the midst of a complicated antitrust lawsuit with Front Row Motorsports against Nascar. As of now, 23XI Racing has three charters and their status is in flux. But they are operating as business as usual at the moment. In its first year as a three-car team, 23XI's performance has been up and down. All three drivers are winless. Bubba Wallace has shown more raw speed, but poor luck has resulted in an average finish of 18.7, while Tyler Reddick is still winless. Rookie Herbst is 34th in the standings, the third lowest of all full-time drivers. For the first time, 23XI fielded four cars with full-time Craftsman Truck Series driver Corey Heim driving the No. 67 car at Kansas and Nashville. In doing so, the team welcomed yet another duo of new sponsors, Robinhood and Chief's. 'We took on a lot by going to a third full-time car this year,' Lauletta said. 'We wanted to make sure we didn't distract or take away our focus from what we were doing for our first four years with Tyler and Bubba. "Having the ability to sign a development talent like Corey Heim had us know we'd have a fourth car and get him some seat time in the Cup Series. It gave a lot of our folks at Air Speed a chance to go to the racetrack. Yes, it's extra work for all of us, but it's important for us to continue the development of what 23XI is on and off the track.' 23XI Racing has made a name for itself for welcoming new partners to Nascar since its inception in 2021. The team inked major partnerships with companies like Door Dash and Columbia Sportswear, amongst others as the years have gone on. 'We try to be innovative and different in everything we do,' Lauletta said. 'It's how we think and deliver to our partners and how we build our brand. I've said since the beginning that our goal is to build a brand in 23XI that happens to be a race team, not a race team brand. It's proven that our fan base is different from the core Nascar fan.' Last year, Reddick captured the regular season points title and qualified for the Championship 4 for the first time in team history. While he didn't win it all, it showed the team is plenty capable of competing for championships. 'We're capable of winning a lot of races,' Lauletta said. 'Denny laid out a five-year plan when we started building this team in late 2020, and that was by 2025 to be a consistent race-winning team and championship-contending team. We got there in four years, and we need to continue that growth.' Even with the tough luck through 15 races, Reddick and Wallace are sixth and 10th in the standings, respectively.
Washington Post
a day ago
- Automotive
- Washington Post
Denny Hamlin wins at Michigan for his 3rd NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Denny Hamlin is pulling off quite a juggling act. Hamlin outlasted the competition at Michigan International Speedway for his third NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season and 57th of his career, juggling his roles as a driver, expectant father and co-owner of a racing team that's suing NASCAR. 'The tackle box is full,' Hamlin said Sunday. 'There's all kinds of stuff going on.' Hamlin, in the No. 11 Toyota, went low to pass William Byron on the 197th of 200 laps and pulled away from the pack to win by more than a second over Chris Buescher. 'Just worked over the guys one by one, giving them different looks,' he said. Ty Gibbs finished third, matching a season best, followed by Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson. The 44-year-old Hamlin was prepared to leave his team to join his fiancée, Jordan Fish, who is due to give birth to their third child, a boy. If she was in labor by Lap 50 or sooner at Michigan, he was prepared to leave the track. Hamlin said he would skip next week's race in Mexico City if necessary to witness the birth. To add something else to Hamlin's plate, he is also co-owner of 23XI Racing with Michael Jordan, which is involved in a lawsuit against NASCAR. He drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, which hadn't won at Michigan in a decade. 'I think it's the most underrated track that we go to,' said Hamlin, who has won three times on the 2-mile oval. Hamlin became JGR's winningest driver, surpassing Kyle Busch's 56 victories, and the 10th driver in NASCAR history to win after his 700th start. 'It feels good because I'm going to hate it when I'm not at the level I'm at now,' he said. 'I will certainly retire very quicky after that.' Hamlin's team set him up with enough fuel to win while many drivers, including Byron, ran out of gas late in the race. 'It really stings,' said Byron, the points leader, who was a season-worst 28th. 'We just burned more (fuel) and not able to do much about that.' Hamlin, meanwhile, wasn't on empty until his celebratory burnout was cut short. Pole-sitter Chase Briscoe was out front until Byron passed him on Lap 12. Buescher pulled ahead on Lap 36 and stayed up front to win his first stage this season. Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott took turns with the lead before a crash involving Alex Bowman brought out the red flag on Lap 67. Byron took the lead again after a restart on Lap 78 as part of his strong start and surged to the front again to win the second stage. Carson Hocevar took the lead on Lap 152 and was informed soon thereafter that he didn't have enough fuel to finish, but that became moot because a flat tire forced him into the pits with 18 laps to go. Hocevar faded to a 29th-place finish, a week after he was second to match a career best at Nashville, where he created a buzz with an aggressive move that knocked Ricky Stenhouse Jr. out of the race. Bowman hit a wall with the front end of his No. 48 Chevrolet as part of a multi-car crash in his latest setback. 'That hurt a lot,' he said after passing a medical evaluation. 'That was probably top of the board on hits I've taken.' Bowman, who drives for Hendrick Motorsports, came to Michigan 12th in points and will leave lower in the standings. He has finished 27th or worse in seven of his last nine starts and didn't finish for a third time during the tough stretch. Defending race champion Tyler Reddick qualified 12th, but started last in the 36-car field because of unapproved adjustments and rallied to finish 13th. NASCAR shifts to Mexico City for its first points-paying international race in modern history on June 15. ___ AP auto racing:
Fox Sports
a day ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Denny Hamlin wins Michigan, taunts crowd while awaiting third child
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Denny Hamlin could feel nerves during the race Sunday at Michigan International Speedway. His fiancée, Jordan Fish, was six days past due with their third child and Hamlin and his team had decided if they got past Lap 50 of the 200-lap race, he wouldn't be told if she went into labor. Things worked out for Hamlin. He won at Michigan and 90 minutes after the race, was still at the track doing media. He talked about why he needs to be at the birth, baby names … and fierce taunts of the crowd in Michigan. That's Hamlin, living amid chaos and then creating even more for himself. "I don't want to be so ho-hum with winning that it's boring because then I lose my drive," Hamlin said. Hamlin, who has a group of friends who are Ohio State fans, gave the "O" sign to the Michigan crowd and resurrected his line that he told his father he wouldn't use anymore as he crowed to the crowd: "I beat your favorite driver." The boos reigned and Hamlin chuckled. "I do thrive on it just simply because you feel like you've got 60,000 people that are rooting against you," Hamlin said. "When you have that, it just feels really, really good and gratifying to prove them wrong. "I love that feeling." Hamlin had spent Saturday night in Michigan as Fish had not had any labor symptoms. Fish posted an Instagram story late in the race that she was at home. "I felt decent enough about it," Hamlin said. "We had to set some sort of cutoff of whether I was going to finish or not. "So I was very nervous last night and then this morning to getting the call because I knew I had a race-winning car after yesterday." Hamlin is known to run well, even with outside distractions. And he has the additional drama of the race team he owns (but doesn't drive for) 23XI Racing embroiled in a lawsuit against NASCAR. Earlier in the week, the team was dealt a blow in the U.S Court of Appeals and faces the prospect of the 23XI Racing cars not being chartered in a few weeks. It seems that he has been able to focus when he's at the track since that lawsuit was filed last October. The worries about missing the birth of his child, though, seemed to weigh on him more. With JGR simulator driver Ryan Truex at the track, in case he needed to leave, Hamlin knew the team was prepared for him to leave if Fish went into labor. He knew he had a strong car and had a good feeling about the race. Granted, Hamlin didn't have the fastest car. Chris Buescher probably did, but his car wiggled as he tried to run down the leaders late in the race. This cost him valuable momentum and he ended up coming across the line a second after Hamlin. \ William Byron had a strong car, but like many others, he had to save gas near the end, relinquishing the lead with less than four laps to go and then running out with a little over a lap remaining. Hamlin's team made sure he had enough fuel on the final stop to be on the attack at the end. And he executed flawlessly to the finish. And his wife was still at home, posting on Instagram near the end of the race. "I was a little nervous just because we put the Lap 50 cutoff," Hamlin said. "If it happens before Lap 50, I just go ahead and get out, just because of the time. "If it was after, I thought that by the time she gets her s--- together and gets to the hospital, all that stuff? You just never how it all turns out. But I think I can make it, as long as I had a three-hour window." It marked the third win of the year for Hamlin and his 57th career victory in his 701st start. Now it's on to Mexico City, and Hamlin indicated he would be willing to stay home if Fish has not given birth by the weekend. Obviously, it is a much longer flight from there than it would have been from Michigan to his North Carolina home. NASCAR would grant Hamlin a waiver to miss a race and consider it for medical reasons, meaning he would still make the playoffs and get to keep playoff points earned during the season. "It's the bigger picture. You never know when you'll ever have another one," Hamlin said about wanting to be home for the birth of the child. "You may not. I've been really supportive of her, the way that she wants to have this play out, which is as natural as possible. "Everyone asks, 'Why don't you just schedule, schedule, schedule?' I don't know. You've just got to let her decide in these situations. If it causes me to miss a race, it's one of 701 races that I missed and it's just not that big of a deal." His team owner, Heather Gibbs, when asked earlier about whether she was nervous for Hamlin, quipped: "It's funny, because I have four [children]. They [husbands] don't really do anything. When he gets home, he'll be home. It was good." Hamlin's response: "Well, that is true. I've been in the room before, and she needs something really hard to grab onto, and my hand is perfect for it. I'm definitely going to be there this week — hopefully — to hold her hand." The same could have been said for the way Hamlin grabbed the lead just when he needed to and held on for the victory. "He kind of thrives in chaos, right?" Heather Gibbs said. "It was true, we wanted to get him in the car. ... He's as cool as they come, that's for sure." Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Get more from NASCAR Cup Series Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
San Francisco Chronicle
a day ago
- Automotive
- San Francisco Chronicle
Denny Hamlin wins at Michigan for his 3rd NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season
BROOKLYN, Mich. (AP) — Denny Hamlin outlasted the competition at Michigan International Speedway, winning his third NASCAR Cup Series race this season and the 57th of his career on Sunday. Hamlin, in the No. 11 Toyota, went low to pass William Byron on the 197th of 200 laps and pulled away from the pack. The 44-year-old was prepared to leave his team to join his fiancée, Jordan Fish, who is due to give birth to their third child, a boy. Hamlin said he would skip next week's race in Mexico City if necessary to witness the birth. He's also co-owner of 23XI Racing with Michael Jordan, which is involved in a lawsuit against NASCAR. Chris Buescher finished second, followed by Ty Gibbs, Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson. Pole-sitter Chase Briscoe was out front until Byron passed him on lap 12. Buescher pulled ahead on lap 36 and stayed up front to win his first stage this season. Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott took turns with the lead before a crash involving Alex Bowman brought out the red flag on lap 67. Byron took the lead again after a restart on lap 78 as part of his strong start and surged to the front again to win the second stage. Carson Hocevar took the lead on lap 152 and was informed soon thereafter that he didn't have enough fuel to finish, but that became moot because a flat tire forced him into the pits with 18 laps to go. Rough times for Bowman Bowman hit a wall with the front end of his No. 48 Chevrolet as part of a multi-car crash in his latest setback. 'That hurt a lot,' he said after passing a medical evaluation. Bowman, who drives for Hendrick Motorsports, came to Michigan 12th in points and will leave lower in the standings. He has finished 27th or worse in seven of his last nine starts and didn't finish for a third time during the tough stretch. Reddick rallies Defending race champion Tyler Reddick qualified 12th, but started last in the 36-car field because of unapproved adjustments and rallied to finish 13th. Up next ___
