Bubba Wallace is facing a make-or-break year, as it’s been revealed that he had to consider options beyond 23XI Racing. The team, co-owned by Denny Hamlin and basketball icon Michael Jordan, is embroiled in a heated legal tussle with NASCAR.
They’ve refused to ink new charter agreements for the years 2025-2031, prompting 23XI Racing alongside Front Row Motorsports to file an anti-trust lawsuit against NASCAR over alleged monopolistic actions. Amidst the legal fray, they sought a preliminary injunction to continue competing as charter teams instead of entering as ‘open’ cars during the ongoing litigation.
A judge ruled in favor of the injunction, highlighting Wallace as a pivotal element, as U. S. District Court Judge Kenneth Bell disclosed: “23XI’s contract with driver Riley Herbst similarly requires that Herbst be provided with a chartered car, as does Front Row’s contract with driver Noah Gragson.
“Other drivers have expressed similarly urgent concerns. Driver Bubba Wallace informed 23XI that he needs to know how it intends to compete ‘immediately’ so that he can explore seats with other teams.”
While Wallace hinted at looking for other team opportunities, his immediate future seems secure, even though NASCAR has decided to challenge the court’s decision.
Legendary NASCAR crew chief and analyst Larry McReynolds has thrown down the gauntlet to Wallace, driver of the No. 23 car, stating on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that this season is crucial for Wallace’s career after he missed the Playoffs last time around.
“I get a feeling this is a pretty critical year for Bubba Wallace,” McReynolds declared. “You know Tyler Reddick won one more race this year, just this year alone, than Bubba Wallace has in his whole career. Two wins in 255 starts and as I said, he’s been there since day one with 23XI when they first rolled out the beginning of 2021.
“I just feel like this is a pretty critical year for Bubba Wallace to go out there and contend for wins.”
This urgency aligns with the sentiments of co-owner Denny Hamlin who outlined his expectations upon Wallace’s contract renewal after missing the playoffs. Back in September. Hamlin declared: “I mean, the 23 team needs to make the playoffs every year. I think that’s our expectation.
“And then make a deep run and finish in the top-10 in points. That’s kind of our expectation of kind of where we’re at right now. Just getting in, it’s hard for me to say that’d be the only expectation. But it is an expectation given the standards that we’ve given for ourselves. So he knows he needs to get better. I think he has gotten better so as long as he continues that.
“Last year when he made it on driver points he was 14th. This year 12th, so while it won’t look great in the final box score because once you get in, who knows where you go, your floor is only 16th. Certainly this year the end result is going to look worse than last year.
“But we know that given the stats that he’s had, laps led, all that, everything has improved over what he had last year. Just gotta take that next step.”
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