"We have sacrificed our own performance" says Denny Hamlin in giving Bubba Wallace Jr.'s team a chance

23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin played a key role in the team's inception in 2020. Partnering with basketball legend Michael Jordan, Hamlin envisioned a team that pushed the boundaries of what was deemed normal in NASCAR and bought a breath of fresh air to the stock car racing community.

While Kurt Busch and his #45 crew have had relative success over the 2022 Cup Series season, Bubba Wallace Jr. and his #23 crew have struggled during the season. The Tampa, Florida native, as a by-product of the woes his team has been having, has compromised his own driving career and performances at Joe Gibbs Racing.

Hamlin's Cup Series season kicked off terribly with a DNF in the season-opening Daytona 500. Since then, he has seen highs with two trips to Victory Lane and lows with multiple mistakes on pit road. The most notable of which came at Dover International Speedway, which saw the #11 Toyota Camry TRD lose a wheel like many others this year.

While the resulting penalty meant he had the option to borrow two crew members from 23XI Racing, he refused, saying:

“Well, as a matter of fact, to be clear, when I lost two guys, JGR told me that the best option was to take two people from the 23 and put them on my team. They are the best available that we could grab versus taking two reserves that are on the bench waiting to come up. I said, ‘No, give me whoever is left.’”

Hamlin's decision ultimately meant he compromised his own performances on the track, as he elaborated, saying:

“We have sacrificed our own performance and anybody who watched, we didn’t have the best pit road performance over the last four weeks. We had fast cars. I’ll take whoever’s left on the bench that’s in reserve and let Bubba’s team continue to get reps because they are so young. They need time.”

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Denny Hamlin signs Tyler Reddick to drive for 23XI Racing in 2024

23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin made one of the biggest announcements of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series silly season. The 41-year-old recently confirmed the signing of 26-year-old Reddick with sponsors and car information yet to be decided.

Watch Denny Hamlin take on 'The Magic Mile' this Sunday as NASCAR prepares to go racing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Ambetter 301 on Sunday.