It is that time of year again where the Pit Pass Network reviews all of the NASCAR Cup Series teams. Robert Cwick and myself will be splitting the teams, reviewing their 2024 results, and giving a letter grade for their performance. Also, there will be some insight to memorable moments and a look ahead to the 2025 season. To kick off this year’s series, Robert took a look at Team Penske. Now, 23XI Racing will be the second team featured in the 2024 Season in Review articles.
Despite not hoisting the championship trophy, no team in NASCAR made more noise than 23XI Racing. However, it was mostly due to off-track turbulence. Currently, 23XI Racing (and Front Row Motorsports) are suing NASCAR over the new charter agreement. Before the lawsuit was filed, owner Denny Hamlin had been a vocal critic of NASCAR and their charter negotiations. Throw in a race manipulation penalty from Martinsville and 23XI ran the gambit of controversies.
On-track though, 23XI Racing broke through with one team while another suffered a bit of a setback. Granted, that “setback” came due to the fury of new race winners. Does that mean both teams had a successful 2024? Will their one Championship Four appearing team raise the grade?
#23 – Bubba Wallace
2024 Stat Line:Â 36 Starts – 6 Top-5s, 15 Top-10s, 139 Laps Led, Avg Fin: 15.28
Crew Chief: Bootie Barker
Driver Points Ranking: 18;Â Owner Points Ranking: 18
Notable Results: Qualified on pole for Southern 500; Set career bests in Top-5s, Top-10s, and average finish
Heading into the 2024 season, Bubba Wallace was looking to build off a successful 2023. For the first time in his career, Wallace made the playoffs and advanced through to the Round of 12. While he did miss out on victory lane, it would be tough to argue that 2023 was not positive momentum. For 2024, the goal was simple and two-fold: make the playoffs again and win races.
Since operating as a 2-car team, Wallace’s teammates have managed to score wins in each season. Meanwhile, Wallace has only found victory lane once since 23XI transformed into a 2-car operation. While there was little talk of hot seat implications for Wallace, the pressure was on to perform.
Unfortunately for Bubba Wallace, his career season failed to net him a win. His best finish was third during the Bristol Night Race. While his results were consistent, he lacked race winning speed on a regular basis. Only twice did he lead more than 10% of the laps in a race. While his teammate won three times and made it to the Championship Four, Wallace’s lack of wins kept him out of the playoffs.
2024 Grade: D+
It feels harsh to give that low of a grade. Bubba Wallace set career highs in Top-5s, Top-10s, and average finish. On a consistency basis, Wallace usually ran inside the Top-15, as he finished there 19 times. Based on points accrued throughout the season, Wallace would have finished 13th. If not for his Martinsville penalty for race manipulation, the 23 driver would have scored more total points than the Cup Series Champion.
However, success in this sport lives and dies via expectations. Moreso than simply making the playoffs, the goal for Bubba Wallace was to win. Honestly, winning multiple races would have been the preferred goal. Still, a single win could have helped boost the overall view of the season. In a wacky year of fluke winners, missing the playoffs this season would not have been viewed as negatively had Wallace played spoiler in the playoffs. Yet, he did not. Based on how well his teammate runs, Wallace is driving race-winning equipment. Not figuring out a way to win a single race on a consistent basis is a massive blemish on his record.
2025 Outlook
Obviously, trying to map out what any of the 23XI Racing drivers’ 2025 will look like depends on the lawsuit. For the sake of this article, the assumption will be that each driver will run the full 2025 schedule, chartered or open.
Similar to what was said in last year’s review, the goal is simple: win. Bubba Wallace has to win in this equipment. Tyler Reddick cannot consistently win stages and races while Wallace runs 8th to 14th. If Wallace was still with Petty, it would be a different story. However, Wallace cannot keep skating by without wins while his teammates have racked up 6 since 2022. Kurt Busch and Tyler Reddick demonstrated the capabilities of this team. The question is whether Wallace can live up to those expectations.
For 2025, Bubba Wallace will be having a new crew chief as Bootie Barker was reassigned to leadership role. Replacing Barker will be Charles Denike, who was the crew chief for Christian Eckes in the Craftsman Truck Series last year. Splitting Barker and Wallace seems to be a move indicating the pressure mounting on Wallace. First, you replace the crew chief. Then, you replace the driver.
Once again, many will find it difficult to foresee Bubba Wallace being on the hotseat with 23XI Racing. However, Toyota is stocked with talented prospects with limited seats to fill. If Wallace again fails to win a race in 2025, Corey Heim could be lurking for that 23 seat.
#45 – Tyler Reddick
2024 Stat Line:Â 36 Starts – 3 Wins, 12 Top-5s, 21 Top-10s, 3 Poles, Avg Fin: 13.2
Crew Chief: Billy Scott
Drivers Points Ranking: 4;Â Owner Points Ranking: 4
Notable Results: Won 3 times, including Homestead to make Championship Four; Won regular season championship
After advancing to the Round of 8 last year, the next step in progression for the 45 team was to make the Championship Four. In 2023, the issue was not the speed. Tyler Reddick usually found himself upfront throughout races. Plus, he managed to nab 2 wins last year. However, the question was whether the team could avoid making mistakes. Those 2 wins could have easily been more if not for pit road blunders, driver errors, or poor strategy. If the team could put those to bed, they would be dangerous for the 2024 season.
With a slow start to kick off the season, Tyler Reddick began to find form as the spring faded into summer. Surprisingly, his first win of the season came at Talladega. Leading the outside line, Reddick took advantage of the Fords shooting themselves in the foot. From there, Reddick morphed into the most consistent car on track. Starting with the Coca-Cola 600, Reddick ticked off 12 Top-10s in 14 races. This included a 7 race stretch where Reddick finished no worse than 6th. On the back of this run, Reddick managed to win the regular season title over Kyle Larson at Darlington.
Playoff Woes Saved by Homestead
Coming off that hot streak, Tyler Reddick felt like a lock for the Championship Four. However, the playoffs were almost as horrid as Martin Truex Jr’s run last year. Kicking off with a 6th at Atlanta, Reddick would not net another Top-10 until his win at Homestead. Through the entire playoffs, Reddick’s average finish ballooned to 18.5 (from 11.15 in the regular season). Most concerningly, his Top-15 lap percentage dropped from 71.97% in the regular season to 42.72% in the playoffs.
It took a gutsy tire call and drive for Reddick to advance through the Round of 12 at the ROVAL. Granted, Alex Bowman’s disqualification would have saved Reddick anyway. The poor performances continued into the Round of 8. Two DNFs at Las Vegas and Martinsville are sandwiched around an impressive last lap charge at Homestead. On slightly older tires, Reddick managed to pass Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney to pick up the needed win. Making the Championship Four for the first time in his career, Reddick made little noise in the finale, outside almost wrecking Chase Elliott and Chris Buescher to still be fourth out of the Championship Four.
2024 Grade: A
Prior to the final 9 races of the year, 2024 would have been an easy A+ for Tyler Reddick. For the entire summer, Reddick and the 45 team were the ones to beat. Sure, he did not rack up wins. But, he consistently ran inside the Top-5 and made up a significant amount of points to catch Kyle Larson. More wins throughout the season would be an improvement, but Reddick had chances to win 8-10 races this year.
What drags Reddick’s grade down to an A is the horrible playoff run he had. Outside of Homestead, every race was an example of struggle, mistakes, and poor strategy. Although he was the regular season champion, Reddick did not belong in the Championship Four based on his playoff performance. Even though he won 3 stages in the playoffs, Reddick’s struggles were only hidden by his playoff point stash.
2025 Outlook
Until the playoffs, Tyler Reddick rid himself of that boom or bust persona from the previous seasons. When he was not winning (or finishing Top-5), Reddick managed to still have a solid result. At this point, Reddick has to be considered one of the top drivers in the Cup Series. While Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, and (maybe) Denny Hamlin would rank ahead of him, he should get an edge over William Byron, Chase Elliott, and Ryan Blaney. Reddick looks to be a future champion, especially if the Championship Race moves away from Phoenix.
#50 – Open Team
Drivers: Kamui Kobayashi, Corey Heim, & Juan Pablo Montoya
2024 Stat Line:Â 3 Starts – 471 Laps Ran, 112 Top-15 Laps, Avg Fin 30.00
Crew Chief: Dave Rogers (Heim) & Julian Pena (Kobayashi & Montoya)
Back again this season was 23XI Racing’s third car. However, instead of the #67 being adorned, Mobile1 sponsorship saw the #50 featured. Skipping the Daytona 500 this year, the first appearance for the open entry was COTA, where Kamui Kobayashi made his return. Following the road course, Corey Heim took a turn in the ride at Nasvhille. Heim, who is 23XI’s sim and reserve driver, had the most impressive run of the 3 starts in the 50. However, some late race shenanigans spoiled what could have been a Top-20 run.
Perhaps the most notable man to drive the 50 car was Juan Pablo Montoya. Returning to NASCAR for the first time since 2014, Montoya climbed behind the wheel for the playoff race at Watkins Glen. Even with limited expectations, Montoya’s time with 23XI Racing was underwhelming. Montoya never got the feel for the NextGen car, starting 34th and finishing off the lead lap in 32nd. It was cool to see Montoya return, but that faded away after a few laps of practice.
2025 Outlook: #35 Riley Herbst
Announced on November 20, Riley Herbst will be driving for 23XI Racing fulltime in 2025. Getting the callup from the Xfinity Series, Herbst and Monster Energy join 23XI as their third entry. Rather than go with 67 or 50, the newly formed team will rock with the #35, taking the 3 from 23 and the 4 from 45. Although this move was recently announced, it had been long rumored during silly season.
Fresh off winning the Xfinity Series finale, it is difficult to pinpoint where the expectations should be for Riley Herbst. To his credit, Herbst has grown much as a racer during his Xfinity tenure. Plus, his crew chief since 2023, Davin Restino, will be joining him. In 23XI Racing’s equipment, it would be surprising to see Herbst lay a complete egg in his rookie season.
Welcome to the family #forwardtogether #teamtoyota pic.twitter.com/wegE9Mw5vY
— 23XI Racing (@23XIRacing) November 20, 2024
With that said, rookies have struggled mightily in Cup recently. That has not changed since the NextGen, with only Carson Hocevar really impressing too much in his rookie campaign. Although they were starts with Rick Ware Racing, Herbst also has struggled to impress in his non-superspeedway outings in the NextGen. The biggest test for Herbst will be whether he can win the Rookie of the Year award. Barring a Shane van Gisbergen road course win, the battle should be tight between the two.
23XI Racing 2024 Grade: B+
Difficult not to get a good grade when one of your drivers advances to the Championship Four. Despite all of the off-track drama, 23XI Racing managed to put together two solid seasons from their fulltime teams. On points alone, both drivers ranked among the top 12 in the sport. Both drivers also ranked within the top 11 in terms of average finish. Clearly, the performances were there to call 2024 a successful year.
Obviously, 23XI Racing will remain in the headlines throughout the offseason. Their lawsuit with NASCAR could potentially drag into the 2025 season. As of this writing, their three teams are currently set to run as open teams for the season. They recently withdrew then refiled their injunction for a chartered status while their lawsuit continues. Will the team be able to continue their strong results as the lawsuit drags on, especially if they are open teams? Could the expansion to three teams hurt their overall performance as well? These will be things to follow through the offseason and through the 2025 season.
Writer’s Note: “2024 Season in Review” is a series that will be split between Robert Cwick and Griffin Fuller. It is tandem effort to cover all the Cup Series teams. Daniel Smith is also doing a deep dive into the statistics for the Cup Series in his season review.
For other 2024Season in Review articles, click the link(s) below:
Robert Cwick: Team Penske
