As 23XI Racing is in the midst of an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR, the team scored its biggest win to date, just a week after the organization had all three of its Charters swiped by NASCAR following the overturning of an injunction, which prevented the sanctioning body from recognizing 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports as “unchartered” teams.
Heading into last weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series crown jewel Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the 23XI Racing team, which is co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, had yet to score a win during the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Bubba Wallace, who impressed by nabbing the runner-up starting spot for the race in Saturday’s qualifying session, found himself at the front of the field late in the race through a mixture of excellent strategy by crew chief Charles Denike and a fast race car.
After a red flag for rain with four laps remaining, Wallace had to endure a dwindling fuel tank and a double overtime finish to hold off Kyle Larson, the defending winner of the Brickyard 400, for the marquee race win.
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Race Results: Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis
With the win, 23XI Racing became just the third team to ever record a NASCAR Cup Series win as an “Open” team since the inception of the Charter System in 2016. 23XI Racing joined Kaulig Racing, which won the 2021 event at the Indianapolis Road Course with AJ Allmendinger, and Trackhouse Racing, which won the 2023 Chicago Street Race with Shane van Gisbergen behind the wheel of its PROJECT91 race car.
For Wallace, it was his third career NASCAR Cup Series win and first since September 2022. For 23XI Racing, the win marks a turning point for the race team, which was born ahead of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Hamlin, the team’s co-owner who finished third in the race behind the wheel of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, feels a win in the Brickyard 400 takes every piece of a team pulling in the right direction to achieve.
“I talked about it, it’s the next step for the team,” Hamlin said in his post-race victory press conference. “I always thought this racetrack was always a showcase of driver, team, engine, all the things. It just was. It was a showcase of that.”
With the Next Gen car bringing in a level of parity never before seen in the NASCAR Cup Series, Hamlin admits it may not be as impactful as it once was, but he still feels that the best of the best are the ones that shine on the stage of Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“Now obviously with the Next Gen car, it’s a little bit different, but when it comes to qualifying, there’s no — even in the race, look at it, it’s all the top drivers you see every week running up front there. It always brings out the best in the best drivers and the best teams,” Hamlin explained.
At the end of the day, Hamlin feels the gravity of the Brickyard 400 win for Wallace, and his No. 23 team is immense, and as for the 23XI Racing team, it certainly legitimizes the team’s existence in the NASCAR landscape.
“This is our first win for the team for the season, our only win. So for it to come for the 23 team while they’re in a battle here for a playoff spot, that’s big for them,” Hamlin said. “Then for the team, these things are super valuable for us. We hosted a huge activation right there in downtown Indy right next to the Gainbridge Center. We’re doing a lot. We’re doing a lot on and off the racetrack. These things help legitimatize our place in the sport.”
23XI Racing, which is in the middle of its fifth season in the NASCAR Cup Series, has now captured nine victories overall. The team will look to add more hardware for the displays at its shop, named Airspeed, in Huntersville, NC, over the final 14 races of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season.
