Despite showing magnificent speed and promise, 23XI hasn’t been able to win as many races as they had expected. And most of it comes down to their pit road woes. Earlier, Denny Hamlin had expressed how not being a home team limited their practice times at the Joe Gibbs Racing facility in Huntersville, North Carolina. But not anymore. With their new facility “Airspeed” up and running, 23XI Racing has everything it needs to win races and attain the status of a championship-winning team.
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“The first thing we had to do is make sure the flow is correct,” Hamlin explained. “Obviously, we’re now closer to JGR so the things that we work on is closer. The way we figure it is we’ll get our cars probably a day or so sooner than what we had them in the past. And that just allows us one more day to massage them and work out all the kinks.”
Being the first ship designed exclusively for the Next-Gen era, Hamlin expects that the team will be able to curate a car significantly faster than they used to do at their previous shop. All thanks to the workflow and their technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing. Needless to say, everyone at 23XI is pumped up to start working from their brand-new facility.
Hamlin’s dreams came true with Airspeed
It’s been four years since Hamlin and his partner Michael Jordan have been fielding entries in the Cup Series. And throughout that period, Hamlin had always wanted a facility that he would call the Google of race shops. Finally, his dream has come true. Even his drivers are quite optimistic about the new shop. For Bubba Wallace, people are thriving in there.
“People like new things, people like shiny things to touch, feel, and smell — that’s what Airspeed provides,” said the Alabama native. “It’s really, really cool.” However, according to his teammate Tyler Reddick, the new facility is just going to set expectations high for both of them. This is fine, as pressure can often be a privilege in a fast-paced sport like NASCAR.
All things considered, it is safe to say that Airspeed has it all. “Some guys may want to come there for the aesthetic,” exclaimed Wallace’s crew chief Bootie Barker. “Some guys might want to come there for the atmosphere. Some may come for the technology that’s in it. Others it may help a sponsor. It’s certainly not lacking in anything.” But will Jordan be available as the team operates from Airspeed?
Maybe not always. But Airspeed does flaunt a new, shared office and a shared lounge area for the owners. So, Jordan can make some time off of his busy schedule and drive to Huntersville to check on his NASCAR team anytime he wants.
