“I’m slowly but surely starting to believe that 23XI [Racing] is an equal to the position I’m in right now,” Denny Hamlin told Sports Business Journal. Do you agree?
Luken Glover: 23XI has come a long way in its short history, but it’s not at the level of Joe Gibbs Racing yet. JGR has had a strong start to the season, winning two races, finishing runner-up and third last weekend at Circuit of the Americas with Christopher Bell and Ty Gibbs, and having two of its drivers top the points between Martin Truex Jr. and Gibbs. Meanwhile, 23XI has shown flashes of speed between a runner-up by Tyler Reddick at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a fifth-place run at COTA and a pair of top fives by Bubba Wallace to open the season. However, 23XI still has had some inconsistency, and the pit crew woes have not abandoned the team yet. Despite the top five, Reddick’s COTA run was somewhat disappointing, as the defending race winner never really competed for the win. Meanwhile, Wallace has finished 15th or worse in the last four outings. They’re very likely going to be in the playoff mix, but JGR still has the advantage.
Andrew Stoddard: 23XI is not on JGR’s level, at least not yet, but it has closed the gap considerably in just its fourth season of existence. In 2023, 23XI got both of its full-time drivers in the playoffs compared to three out of four JGR cars making the cut. On the other hand, JGR is still vastly superior in terms of race wins, with 16 checkered flags since the start of the 2022 season to four for 23XI. For Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan’s organization to get over the hump and become equals to JGR, two things need to happen: more race wins and a driver in the Championship 4. That is the standard JGR has set, and it is the standard 23XI has to meet to reach equal footing in the Toyota stable.
Phil Allaway: 23XI isn’t equal to JGR. By nature, it never will be. That said, Hamlin and Jordan have hired a lot of good people to work for the team. They’re assembling good cars and hired good drivers in Reddick and Wallace. It’s a good place to be, but it’s not JGR.
James Krause: I disagree, at least for right now. As long as JGR is fielding four cars that on a week-to-week basis can compete for wins, it’s going to be the top of the mountain for Toyotas in the NASCAR Cup Series. While the success 23XI is experiencing is fantastic for a team just three years into full-time competition, it doesn’t match up to JGR —…
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