TALLADEGA, Ala. — With two wild card races looming, an even larger story has the attention of drivers, as 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports announced a lawsuit filed against NASCAR on Oct. 2.
One of the co-owners of 23XI Racing, Denny Hamlin, faced the media first in a press conference. He began by reiterating his commitment to pursuing a championship by putting in his best effort with the No. 11 team.
“When I get in the race car on Sunday, [the team] knows through my actions on the track that I am 100% in it and focused.”
With news of the lawsuit dropping earlier in the week, one of the biggest questions focused on how the garage area would respond to the latest development.
“As far as feedback from around the garage, I feel like the reaction has all been positive on our end,” Hamlin said.
As far as any negative feedback goes, Hamlin added, “In the end, it’s because you’re threatening status quo, and you’re threatening people’s jobs and things like that. I just hope it’s not seen that way, seeing that this is certainly an opportunity for us to try to promote change in the sport that’s positive for everyone.”
Not only does Hamlin feel this could result in a positive for the sport, but he also believes this will positively impact his on-track performance.
“I feel like certainly on our end, it’s certainly been good for me,” Hamlin added. “This is not like we just decided one day we woke up and this was going to happen. This has been on the plate for a while. Certainly, from my standpoint, it allows me actually more relief to focus on the No. 11 car and everything I’ve got to do there, because now it’s out and it’s done and now there’s other people able to speak on it from the legality standpoint.”
After qualifying, Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell shared similar beliefs that things will continue normally on the team’s end of things.
“No concerns on it impacting performance,” McDowell said. “All that stuff is happening above my pay grade. When you have a goal in front of you, it’s easy to stay focused.”
However, McDowell did make an eye-raising comment.
“I did get a memo before I came here [of] what to not say and talk about, so I don’t know if this fits in it,” McDowell said. “I need to pull up my phone and email.”
McDowell had been asked about his perspective on the…
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