Last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway kicked off the Round of 12 in the playoffs, and one team that seemed to fall on its face after decent showings in recent times was Denny Hamlin’s 23XI Racing.
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Both Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick from the Joe Gibbs Racing-aligned outfit finished the 2025 Mobil 1 301 in P21 and P23, respectively. It was a stark contrast from what they have been able to achieve so far.
While Reddick’s performances throughout the year have been more up and down, Wallace has shown consistent speed and was making a strong case for himself in the playoffs, especially after he entered the second round with a healthy margin to elimination at Bristol the week before.
The same consistent top-10 speed was nowhere to be found as both Wallace and Reddick complained about their cars last Sunday, and how they were unable to keep up with the competition. Hamlin touched on how the team’s pace looked during the race and compared it to what JGR showcased, given their alliance to each other and the same manufacturer, Toyota.
“It seemed like wherever we were, they were ten spots behind. If we were mediocre, they were below mediocre. Just didn’t have the speed, didn’t have the handling. Not good,” said the No. 11 driver.
Both Wallace and Reddick, as a result, find themselves first in line for elimination with a 27-point and 23-point deficit to the cut line, respectively. Despite this setback, Hamlin insists the team is not in a must-win position.
The 44-year-old argued that one really good race and one decent race in the coming weeks for the two cars could keep their advancement hopes alive on a recent episode of Actions Detrimental. He said, “Must-win is you’re below 30 points out going into the last race. With two races to go, there’s too much other stuff that can happen. You can go out and have yourself a 50-point day at Kansas, and next thing you know, I bet you’re going to be minus five, maybe flat.”
While Hamlin did acknowledge that a ’50-point day’ in theory is a driver running in the top-3 in all three stages of the race and finishing there as well, which essentially means the team needs to bring close to race-winning speed at Kansas or the Charlotte Roval.
Some could argue that it is essentially a must-win scenario given the unpredictability of the format, and some may not. However, the bottom line remains the same for 23XI Racing: go out and perform well if they want to further mount a challenge in the playoffs.
