Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick nightmares to continue as Denny Hamlin admits 23XI’s pit crew woes won’t be solved soon

The pit-crew mishaps are the biggest barrier in front of the 23XI path to becoming a title contender.

Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick nightmares to continue as Denny Hamlin admits 23XI’s pit crew woes won’t be solved soon

Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace (Via IMAGO)

23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin admitted that pit-stop issues faced by his driver Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick won’t be fixed quickly. He pointed out that it’s going to be a process that will take years, and the team is investing big in making their crew better. A solid crew that can operate every stop to perfection is a major step toward becoming championship contenders.

The most recent example of the Michael Jordan’s team letting its driver down came at Michigan two weeks ago, where Reddick, who had a car capable of winning, saw a messed-up pit stop ending his race. The right-rear tire came off once the car left the pit lane, and he had to pit again to get it fixed, costing him valuable seconds and, eventually, the race.

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Hamlin, while talking about the issue, pointed out that the situation is very frustrating for the driver as he has first-hand experience of being in the same position. He added that the issue would take years to fix and said the team would invest big into finding the right solution and speed up the process.

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“It’s frustrating from my standpoint because I’ve lived through it myself. I know what Tyler’s going through and the emotion that you have. And Bubba, too. It’s free spots to the competition. So, it is a process,” Denny Hamlin told the RACER.

“It’s going to take years. I can’t emphasize how much time it takes. But our ownership has bought into the fact of investing into our pit crews into the future and what we need to do to make it better, and we’re going to do that,” Hamlin added.

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23XI Racing still depends on JGR for the pit-crew

Bubba and Tyler
Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick (Credits: @23XIRacing/Twitter)

In their first and second seaosn in the premier Cup division, 23XI Racing used the pit crew of Joe Gibbs’ team. The major problem with it was that the group had no control over the members being moved around. Since the team wasn’t the priority, it never got the best guys suitable for the job, costing them during races.

In 2023 seaosn, the team started fielding its pit crew, and it has given 23XI control over its personnel. But the lack of proper infrastructure means they are still being trained at JGR’s shop using their infrastructure. Hamlin’s team also pays JGR to train young athletes who could take over important positions at 23XI.

“You try to make changes the best you can, put different pieces of the puzzle in different spots. We’ve kept the teams as is for the whole year thus far, but you have to be open to options. There are development guys at JGR that we pay into a pool to have access to, and if we have to use some of them, we will,” Hamlin said about the pit-crew situation at the moment.

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