“He’s Chad Knaus, Chris Gabehart, Cliff Daniels type”: 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin hails Bubba Wallace’s new crew chief 

Denny Hamlin praised crew chief Charles Denike after the latter joined the No. 23 Toyota team with Bubba Wallace for the 2025 NASCAR season. The 23XI Racing co-owner Hamlin also highlighted Denike's work ethic to championship-winning crew chiefs like Chad Knaus and more.

Denike was hired after Michael Jordan-owned 23XI Racing decided to move Wallace's former crew chief, Bootie Barker, to an executive role under the Toyota roster. The Huntersville, North Carolina-based organization called in Denike for his first Cup Series season. Before taking control of Wallace's pit box, Denike worked with Christian Eckes in the NASCAR Truck Series, with whom he garnered 12 consecutive top-five finishes and finished the season in third place.

During the Daytona 500 media day, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Hamlin didn't shy away from comparing Denike to elite-level crew chiefs like Knaus, who led Jimmie Johnson to multiple championships. The 44-year-old also mentioned his former shot-caller Chris Gabehart in the list followed by Kyle Larson's championship-winning crew chief Cliff Daniels. Hamlin said, via NASCAR:

"He[Charles Denike] just has some characteristics when you hear him talk, when you hear how he’s organized and works that brings in like a Chad Knaus, Chris Gabehart, Cliff Daniels type of feel to me."

It is worth mentioning that Charles Denike has experience serving with the United States Army as an engineering officer.

“I don’t know if it’s his military background or what, but he’s just so buttoned up,” Hamlin said of Denike. "I mean, when people are talking in the room, his fingers are going 100 miles an hour, putting it all down to paper. He was actually one of the lead guys and organizing strategy for all of us — and not only us, but Joe Gibbs Racing as well."

NASCAR Cup Series driver (L) Bubba Wallace and (R) Denny Hamlin- Source: Getty

While Bubba Wallace started the season with a Daytona Duel win earlier this week, he failed to finish the prestigious Daytona 500 race last Sunday (February 16). Nevertheless, the two-time Cup Series race winner believes his last season was "plateaued" and he is nowhere close to the "peak" of his potential.

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Bubba Wallace opens up on his crew chief change amid the start of 2025 NASCAR season

In a media interaction with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Bubba Wallace reflected on his 2024 season, as he prepares for his fifth full-time season with 23XI Racing. Moreover, the 31-year-old shared about his new crew chief pairing with Charles Denike and explained his potential in NASCAR's premier division.

Wallace said:

"In '24 we were like, Okay, what's that for this peak here? And it kind of just plateaued. And it wasn't from a lack of effort; it wasn't because we had a fallout. It just things didn't line up the way that we thought they would. And it led to a change, and so obviously all of us hope, and even Bootie hopes, that this was the right change, indeed, to keep that climb going."

While Bubba Wallace continues to build his relationship with Charles Denike, he will return to action for the second race of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 23.