Denny Hamlin warns NASCAR rivals 23XI will get even better when he retires

NASCAR Cup Series News Tuesday, March 31, 2026 at 10:33 AM ET •By Chris Deeley

Denny Hamlin has warned the rest of NASCAR that 23XI Racing might get even better once he retires from driving.

23XI star Tyler Reddick currently tops the Cup Series points standings after taking victory in four of the first seven races of the season, with team-mate Bubba Wallace running well before a recent hiccup.

The team, which Hamlin co-owns with Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan, looks best placed to challenge the 'big three' of Team Penske, Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing, although the No. 11 car driver insisted recently that they're still some years from truly being at those teams' level.

Hamlin is widely expected to retire from racing at the end of next season, and warned other teams on Sunday that he actually expects 23XI to improve when he's able to dedicate more hands-on time to the daily running of the organization.

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Hamlin: 23XI have strategic advantage

“I think they'll get better when that happens, but maybe not," Hamlin told the media at Martinsville. "Just there's no other owner that's able to understand what these drivers are talking about, and able to designate resources to fix.

"There's no other owners that can challenge when I hear something that I don't think is necessarily correct and I can say, are you sure? Are you sure something else doesn't lead to that? And then it prompts another thought and it's, like yeah, you know what?

"Maybe that's it because next thing you know, because they could be going off and off in a rabbit hole type of path. So that's just the really the strategic advantage that we have over there.

"When I stop driving, I think I'll still be able to contribute for a couple years, because I'll be fresh out of the car but eventually it will be more traditional like the other teams are.”