“We’re going to support him no matter what.” Denny Hamlin’s words at the end of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season display the level of faith he had in a retiring driver. That was none other than Kurt Busch, the 2004 Cup Series champion. Over two decades, the elder Busch has worn many hats, from a hot-headed rabble-rouser to a sought-after veteran of the sport. However, what he gave to 23XI Racing still resonates in Hamlin’s team.
Kurt Busch’s name is in NASCAR headlines at present, as he is one of the 26 nominees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2026. Already, the prediction is high for Busch becoming a first-ballot Hall of Famer. And Denny Hamlin just made his case stronger with a salute of appreciation.
Denny Hamlin raises a toast to past co-worker
Well, 23XI Racing has grown by leaps and bounds over the past years. Bubba Wallace fetched his first cup wins with the team at Talladega (2021) and Kansas (2022). Then Tyler Reddick’s appearance propelled the team higher – the No. 45 Toyota driver won the 2024 regular season championship and came dangerously close to clinching his first title. However, all this success would not have been possible without the influence of the first winner for 23XI. Kurt Busch won the 2022 summer race at Kansas. Following that, however, he encountered a crippling wreck at Pocono Raceway that resulted in a bad concussion. The 34-time Cup Series race winner was compelled to hang up his firesuit soon after. Although it has been almost three years since his exit, Busch continues to influence 23XI Racing’s customs.
In a recent interview with Frontstretch, Denny Hamlin acknowledged that fact. Over his career, Kurt Busch fetched 43 wins across all three NASCAR national touring series and worked with most OEMs. So Hamlin said, “I just think that his ability to perform at every racetrack, to perform at every race team, every manufacturer — I think he won with all of them.” What is more, Busch mentored Bubba Wallace and left a profound impact on the 23XI team. Hamlin continued, “He was really good at what he did, and the biggest change that I noticed is that when we brought him over to 23XI, he made everyone else better. He made Bubba quite a bit better, got that 45 team off the ground, and really changed the culture there.”
Sep 27, 2020; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Kurt Busch (1) during the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Currently, 23XI Racing is a top-contending team in the Cup Series. Bubba Wallace has already fetched 4 top-ten finishes in 2025, and Tyler Reddick is slowly catching up to his 2024 pace. For the position that the team is in right now, Denny Hamlin still hails Kurt Busch‘s contributions. He said, “We certainly were very grateful to have him as part of our team, and unfortunately, the end of his career ended. But we still instill things that Kurt liked and wanted his race team to be run like. Still to this day, we use those same codes.” Busch is currently snuggling with well-decorated drivers in the Hall of Fame nominees list. They include stars like Harry Gant and Neil Bonnett.
As Kurt Busch proceeds to get an honorable stamp in NASCAR’s history book, the last team he worked with continues to soar. In fact, 23XI Racing has turned over a new leaf this season.
Grabbing eyeballs on pit road
Well, Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 pit crew won the All-Star Race Pit Crew Challenge. Yet Bubba Wallace’s No. 23 pit crew was not very far behind. In fact, NASCAR named the 23 team as the fastest this season in terms of four-tire pit stops. This progress has been largely due to the efforts of Josh Shipplett, 23XI Racing’s pit team coach. Denny Hamlin‘s team announced this season that it will form its own pit crew without help from the bigger Toyota team, Joe Gibbs Racing. Moreover, Wallace is very confident in his new crew chief’s abilities. At the end of the 2024 season, Charles Denike moved over to the No. 23 team as its crew chief. Already, Denike’s shift has produced results as Wallace fetched back-to-back third-place finishes at Homestead-Miami and Martinsville.
With an added sponsorship of Robinhood, Bubba Wallace can only see a path upward. He said in an interview last month: “All signs are pointing upward. It’s nice to have some results to follow up with the effort that we’re putting in, but it’s a long season. [You] Can’t get complacent gotta keep it going. We have a lot of good tracks coming up…It takes a whole army to make everything happen for our race team, and it’s nice to see it all being put together.” Wallace also shed light on Denike’s transition, as the latter previously worked in the Craftsman Truck Series. “I think the biggest adjustment was for Charles to figure out where he can fit in, and start to grow.”
Clearly, Kurt Busch’s old team has not stopped growing from where he left off. As the Cup Series veteran proceeds to NASCAR’s Hall of Fame, Denny Hamlin has nothing but praise for him.
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