Denny Hamlin Explains Why He Won’t Do What Dale Earnhardt Jr. Does: “It Has Got to Make Financial Sense”

With Tyler Reddick coming off a successful 2022 season and Bubba Wallace showing signs of promise, many expected 23XI Racing to take a jump in the 2023 season. Safe to say, with 22 races done, those expectations have been fulfilled. Reddick has already sealed his spot in the Final 16, with Bubba 54 points above the cut-off line and looking set to make the playoffs for the first time in his career. As things stand, what is stopping owner Denny Hamlin from entering the Xfinity Series?

Later this month, former F1 driver Kamui Kobayashi is set to make his Cup Series debut with 23XI in Indiana in the No. 67 car. Ahead of the race at Michigan, the JGR driver addressed that question with a Dale Earnhardt Jr. reference, also opening up about his team’s decision to apply for a third charter in the Cup Series itself.

Denny Hamlin on if he plans to enter the Xfinity Series like Dale Jr.?

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports has been one of the most successful teams in the Xfinity Series in recent history, acting as a feeder team for teams in the Cup Series.

When Hamlin was asked if he saw his team entering the Xfinity Series as an owner. the #11 driver said, “It just doesn’t make any sense, not especially without scale. I think Dale Jr. can do it because he’s got sponsors and he’s got scale, so, there’s not many Dale Jr. teams out there. You just look at the Xfinity garage, it’s rough, it’s really rough because it’s just hard to make sense.”

On the viability of running a third car for a few races, Hamlin said, “I mean you can do it when it financially makes sense when you have some backing behind it but other than that it’s very very difficult. You pretty much, you need a charter if you want to do this in the long term.”

Denny Hamlin on potentially looking at a third charter for the Cup Series

Hamlin believes that to run consistently with a third car in the long run, only buying a charter would do. But is it viable? On that, the three-time Daytona 500 winner was clear it would take time to even think about that, saying, “Certainly from our standpoint, there’s a lot of work to be done from the team and NASCAR side to get worked out before anyone’s. you know, on our side is comfortable reaching out to anyone about expansion.”

“Again, it has got to make financial sense. It could or could not, depending on when that day happens but I think there’s still too much work to be done over the next six months. Then, I think you’ll maybe see the market start to move around.”