23XI Racing lays an egg in at the wrong time in the NASCAR playoffs

It was a rough day at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for 23XI Racing, to say the least.

In the opening race of the second round of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, 23XI playoff driver Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace were up a New England creek without a paddle — or in this case, a fast race car.

The outlook for Reddick and Wallace was relatively promising prior to the green flag. Reddick and Wallace had qualified fourth and 14th, respectively, and top-10 runs could've gone a long way in putting them on the right side of the playoff cut line going into Kansas.

Unfortunately, the green flag is when any and all positives for the organization ceased to exist. Reddick hung around inside the top 10 long enough to snag two stage points in Stage 1, but faded to 14th by the end of Stage 2. Wallace, meanwhile, was running 25th at the conclusion of Stage 2 on Lap 185 of 301.

Things only got worse in Stage 3, as Wallace was unable to make his way forward and Reddick dropped like a rock. When the checkered flag flew, Reddick finished 21st and Wallace finished 26th — not exactly the ideal way to start the Round of 12. Even rookie driver Riley Herbst, who failed to qualify for the playoffs, could only muster a 22nd-place result for the team.

"That was the longest day I've had in a race car in a long time," Wallace told USA Network. "Just a head-scratcher. We obviously fired off and didn't have much to speak for. Looks like our whole team struggled to find the feel and the speed that we needed. to be that far off, it kind of caught us all by surprise."

Wallace is now last on the grid of the 12 remaining playoff drivers, 27 points below the cut line.

"We were having some brake issues, and throughout that process, it was hard to identify where we needed to go with the balance of the car," Reddick told USA Network. "As the day went on, it just seemed like the car went further and further away."

Reddick is 11th on the playoff grid, 23 points below the cut line with two races remaining in the Round of 12.

The good news for 23XI? Kansas is the next race on the schedule, and it's been a great track for the organization in the Next-Gen era. Both Reddick and Wallace have wins at Kansas, and Kurt Busch also scored a win at the 1.5-mile track for 23XI Racing in 2022. A solid points day — or a win for either driver — for Wallace and Reddick could go a long way towards 23XI putting one or two cars in the Round of 8.