Denny Hamlin shares the alarming strain of owning 23XI as NASCAR’s costs hit ‘so high’

NASCAR Cup Series driver and 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin was recently featured in a media day on Saturday, April 5, 2025, ahead of the Darlington Raceway event. During the interview, Hamlin touched upon the rising cost of owning a stock car racing team.

23XI Racing was established in 2020, and NBA legend Michael Jordan co-owns the team with the Cup Series driver. The team fields four entries: three full-time drivers and one part-time driver. The full-time entries include two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Tyler Reddick in the #45 Toyota Camry XSE, followed by Bubba Wallace in the #23 and Riley Herbst in the #35 Toyota. Additionally, the team signed Corey Heim as a developmental driver for both the Cup and Xfinity Series.

During the interview, a reporter questioned 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin about the "rising costs as a team owner." Reflecting on his experiences, Hamlin stated:

"As a team, there's vendors that are saying they're going to have to raise their prices. The cost of Next Gen (car) itself has gotten high in general. I'm sure, it's going to fall on the teams like you would think." (via SpeedwayDigest.com)

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver revealed that around two and a half years back, the cost of cars in stock car racing cost around $225,000. However, there is a massive hike in price difference for the NextGen era cars.

"The new cars cost around $350,000", Hamlin lightheartedly mentioned. "We’re racing Lambos out there."

The oldest driver on the grid ranks sixth on the Cup Series driver's points table with 218 points. Hamlin secured his first win of the 2025 season at Martinsville Speedway last weekend. Additionally, he has secured four top-ten and three top-five finishes in seven starts this season so far.

Hamlin's team driver, Tyler Reddick ranks one spot below him in seventh place with 213 points. Followed by Bubba Wallace ranking eighth with 208 points and Riely Herbst in P33 with 89 points.

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“Haven't had a dominant car like this in about 10 years”: Denny Hamlin comes clean about his first victory of this season

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin laid down a dominating performance at Martinsville Speedway on March 30, 2025. The 55 Cup Series race winner qualified for the race in fifth place with a best time of 19.76 seconds and a top speed of 95.84 mph. He was 0.04 seconds behind the pole sitter and his teammate, Christopher Bell.

The Tampa, Florida, native ended stage one in ninth place behind Chase Elliott. However, in the second stage, he gained a solid lead and finished in P1. He maintained his lead in the final stage of the 400-lap race and led a total of 274 laps before crossing the finish line with a margin of 4.617 seconds.

Reflecting upon his #11 Toyota Camry XSE's remarkable performance at the 0.526-mile track, Denny Hamlin stated:

“I've just been so close over the years here, but I haven't had a dominant car like this in about 10 years, truthfully. 2022 is the last time I felt like I had a car like this. The pit crew kept me up front, no issues, had some long runs there, and that's really where I typically excel. And man, they just did an amazing job with the car this week.”

The Martinsville Speedway race was Hamlin's first win with his new crew chief, Chris Gayle.