Suffice it to say that 23XI Racing had a rough weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
On Saturday (Oct. 15) morning, one of the team’s drivers, Kurt Busch, announced that he would not be competing full-time in 2023. Busch is still recovering after getting a concussion in a qualifying crash at Pocono Raceway in July. Although he has not raced since, Busch left the door open to drive again when his health improves. Yet considering how Busch was still competitive and on track to make the playoffs before his crash, it will be a tough blow to 23XI to not have him racing every week.
The team’s other driver, Bubba Wallace, sparked the biggest controversy of the race weekend. Wallace had a fast car at Las Vegas and even won the first stage. But on lap 94, while battling for position with Kyle Larson, Wallace hit the wall at the exit of turn four when Larson squeezed him into the upper groove. In an apparent act of retaliation, Wallace swooped down the track and hit Larson in the right rear corner. Larson’s No. 5 spun back up the track and hit playoff driver Christopher Bell before slamming into the frontstretch wall. The contact made Wallace lose control, and he spun into the wall too. Wallace confronted Larson after they climbed out of their cars, setting off a brief scuffle in the infield grass. On a day where Wallace could have contended for the win, a moment of anger relegated him to last place.
It feels like 2022 will go down as a year of missed opportunities for 23XI. Busch and Wallace each won a race at Kansas Speedway this season, but Busch chose to withdraw from the playoffs due to his injury and Wallace’s victory came too late to qualify for the postseason as a driver. Wallace might have been able to make the playoffs on points, but his team was bogged down by mechanical issues and mistakes on pit road early in the season. Things have clearly improved since then, but Wallace’s impulsive revenge on Larson left the No. 45 team with nothing to show for its efforts on Sunday. The only thing that can be said for 23XI from last weekend is that Ty Gibbs, Busch’s fill-in driver, at least managed to bring his car home in one piece, albeit in 22nd.
However, the 2023 season is shaping up to be a very good one for 23XI. Busch’s departure, though discouraging, opens the door for Tyler Reddick to join the team a year earlier than initially planned. Reddick still had one more year on his contract with Richard Childress Racing, and Childress’…
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