Bubba Wallace puts NASCAR rivals on alert with huge 23XI statement

Michael Jordan and 23XI Racing are not in NASCAR to make up the numbers; they want to compete at the very top and disrupt the established order.

That was the message from current driver Bubba Wallace during the build-up to the Daytona 500 last week.

In recent history, Hendrick Motorsports, Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing have dominated the Cup Series, with 10 of the last 11 championships having been won by a driver in one of these organizations. However, Wallace says that 23XI wants to put itself in that bracket moving forward.

NASCAR TODAY: Denny Hamlin says Brad Keselowski wrong as 'broken' system highlighted

Bubba Wallace: 23XI here to disrupt

Quizzed on the ceiling for the team ahead of last Sunday's Daytona 500, Wallace suggested that there wasn't one.

“We want to disrupt the big three (JGR, Hendrick, Penske)," Wallace explained. "We want to put our name in that category, and they are really passionate about that.

"We had a great leadership meeting a couple weeks ago that emphasized on a lot of key notes and it was a big reflection of all of us in that room. So just high expectations.

"It starts with waking up with the right attitude and being present and being on time and giving it your all every day. How can you be better than the previous day? It’s understanding that mindset and adapting to that is going to be huge for us. Just keep pushing.

"This sport is really hard, the big three have been around for a while. Key people come and go and they insert their philosophies.

"We are still growing, but we’ve already done some pretty cool things in a short amount of time, and we have to keep pushing for more.”