NASCAR 2026: Bubba Wallace opens up on 23XI lawsuit settlement

23XI Racing star Bubba Wallace has opened up on how he's feeling he and his team are feeling heading into 2026 without a lawsuit against NASCAR rumbling on in the background.

After the team co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin sued the stock car racing series in October 2024, 23XI started last season in the midst of a legal battle that would last for 14 months, and there was plenty at stake.

During the various back-and-forths in court ahead of the trial, 23XI lost their charters, and as a result, both the future of the team and its drivers came under threat.

Thankfully, it all ended well, with 23XI, Front Row and NASCAR reaching a settlement agreement on day nine of their trial back in December.

As part of the agreement, 23XI got their charters back, with all Cup Series teams' status in the sport having also been made more permanent with charters now being evergreen.

Bubba Wallace on NASCAR v 23XI lawsuit

Given the end result, Jordan, Hamlin and company at 23XI may well feel the battle was worth it in the end. However, that does not change the fact that it must have been an incredibly frustrating and uncertain time for all of the team's personnel, including Wallace, who has now opened up on the matter ahead of this Sunday's Daytona 500.

Speaking to FOX Sports' Bob Pockrass, the driver of the No. 23 Toyota delved into just what the team's personnel were having to deal with and put aside to simply do their jobs, but reiterated that he fully backed the actions taken by his team.

“Yeah, it's nice to be able to talk about freely, right?” Wallace explained. “We were always having to watch what we say.

“I look at it from the people who showed up to work each and every day knowing that there was something of that magnitude looming, and they still gave their effort to build us the fastest race cars to the best of their abilities, and they didn't let that affect them.

“But we're not naive to the fact that, ‘Are we shutting doors down, who knows?’, the big unknown there, and they were able to put that aside.

“Now, with all that going away, I can only imagine there's a massive sigh of relief for them that they can continue to do what they do, show up and give their best effort, and it's much appreciated that both sides [NASCAR and 23XI] are able to come together and make change for the sport.

“That's what we said from day one about this team is we want to be different. We want to push for change in a positive way, and if we have to ruffle some feathers, then so be it.”