Tyler Reddick just announced yesterday that he’s officially taking his talents to 23XI Racing team in 2024, which is co-owned by fellow Cup Series Driver Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan.
Fresh off his first career NASCAR Cup Series win a few weeks ago at Road America, Tyler is locked into the playoffs already and has five top-5s, seven top-10s and the one win under his belt, in addition to leading 273 laps and finished second twice.
The announcement was a huge shock coming in the middle of a season right after a big win, especially for his current team Richard Childress Racing, and they put out what is likely the saltiest statement of all time saying they’re still focused on winning this season and during Tyler’s last season in 2023, but the timing couldn’t be worse:
“We’re proud of the success Tyler Reddick has found at Richard Childress Racing.
We’re focused on winning a championship in 2022 and 2023, although the timing of this announcement could not be any worse.”
Damn…
I think it’s safe to say Mr. Richard Childress isn’t too thrilled about all of this:
Of course, on the other hand, 23XI posted a short and sweet message on their Instagram welcoming Tyler to the team:
“Always preparing for the future. The build continues… Tyler Reddick – Locked in for 2024. SIGNED Team Toyota.”
Bubba Wallace and Kurt Busch currently drive the two cars owned by 23XI, and both are signed through next season, so it remains to be seen if they will both stay on once Tyler starts for the 2024 season and if 23XI will add an entirely new third car.
23XI Racing launched last season with Bubba Wallace in the No. 23 Toyota, and Kurt Busch joined them this season in the No. 45 Camry.
Kurt seems like the obvious choice if they’re going to let one of them go, as he’s quite a bit older than Bubba and Tyler at 44, though he clearly has a stacked résumé and has won 34 races and a NASCAR Cup Series championship.
However, although Kurt is having the better season, Bubba brings home some big sponsorship dollars so it all remains to be seen.
Kurt is reportedly signed through the end of next season, where he will make his 800th Cup Series start.
Co-owner Denny Hamlin said on SiriusXM’s Tradin’ Paint show that Kurt gets to make the call on when he’s done driving, and he has a spot there as long as he wants one:
“Our initial conversation with Kurt when we signed him is that this is your long-term future, no matter what.
You can drive as long as you’d like. And then on top of that, we’d like to keep you on beyond that because we think you’re a very good leader that can help build this team.”
Only time will tell what the future holds for Kurt and the rest of the 23XI team, but it will certainly be an interesting race this weekend with all of this going in the background as the Cup Series heads to New Hampshire Motor speedway for the Ambetter 301.
