Last year became a trial by fire for rookie Riley Herbst. No one expected him to run up front, but Denny Hamlin tipped his cap to the effort and work ethic while keeping expectations in check. Hamlin believed Herbst had the tools to run inside the top 20 on many weekends, but he also knew rookies face a steep learning curve with the Next Gen car. That benchmark slipped in year one, and Herbst has owned it.
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Still, Herbst’s boss has not thrown in the towel. Hamlin has made it clear he expects more from Herbst in 2026. As Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace continue to push the pace, every car under the 23XI Racing banner has to pull its weight. Hamlin did not beat around the bush, saying last year’s performances did not pass muster and that the team wants Herbst consistently knocking on the door of the top 10 or 15, while Reddick and Wallace keep swinging for wins.
Herbst didn’t duck his performance talk from last year either. “There’s no shying away from it; we want the results to be better on the #35 car,” he said.
“We had good enough racecars, we have good enough team members, and I’m a good enough driver to have better results this year. It’s as simple as that. I think we are all on the same page with what we expect and what we want, and that’s to be better this year than last year.”
The 23XI driver added that the group works hand in glove, with little daylight between shops and drivers. “Everyone at 23XI and Airspeed work a little bit different than most fundamental race shops. All three of us are pretty cohesive and work hand to hand together. There wasn’t much separation last year, nor will there be this year. We are all trying to run better on all three accounts.”
Herbst even looped in Corey Heim, who will wheel the No. 67 Toyota in the Daytona 500, saying the goal is shared across the board. All of them want to deliver for Hamlin, Michael Jordan, and the Airspeed crew, a group that burns the midnight oil.
Last season, Reddick saw his average finish drop by 10 percent and ended the year ninth after winning the regular-season title the year before. In fact, he did not reach victory lane at all. Meanwhile, Wallace did celebrate once, but his average finishing position also fell by 20 percent, and he wrapped up the season in 11th.
This time around, with the format change, everything will come down to consistency. Herbst has already made that his top priority, and the same applies to Wallace and Reddick. If they want to keep the train on the tracks, they will need to show up, clock in, and stay in the mix from green to checkered.
