Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Denny Hamlin claims Tyler Reddick can ‘absolutely’ make it into the Championship-4

Originally posted on FirstSportz | By Justin P Joy | Last updated 2/3/24

When Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan became NASCAR Cup team co-owners with 23XI Racing in 2021, their objective was to become championship contenders by 2025. The team has been in the right direction since its debut, winning five races over three years and making it into the playoffs in 2023.

The 2023 was the best year of the team’s history, where their new driver, Tyler Reddick, won two races and made it into the Playoff R-8. 23XI long-time driver Bubba Wallace also didn’t disappoint as he got into the R-12 despite being wineless. Going into the 2024 season, Hamlin and the 23XI team have huge hopes for their drivers.

Tyler Reddick, who has the higher sealing among the two, is expected by Hamlin to make it to the Championship-4. He admitted that there are certain tracks the team and the driver have to work on his craft in tracks like Martinsville. Hamlin sees Reddick as one of ten drivers who could be the champion in 2024.

Reddick, you know came up, I think the short tracks — he knows he’s got to improve on the short tracks. That’s a big part of getting to the Championship 4. The struggles kind of went beyond just Martinsville. Even at Phoenix, it was just not really there. So I think he knows where he’s got to work. So I think absolutely the guy can make it to the final four. Certainly the talent is there. Hamlin said via Action Detrimental.

Tyler Reddick discusses the challenges with the new Toyota Camry

Ahead of the 2024 season, Ford and Toyota made some major car changes. They completely change the bodies of the cars while keeping the Next-Gen regulations in mind. This puts teams in a situation where they must once again work on optimizing their aero package.

Reddick, while talking about the same, pointed out that he isn’t concerned about the change and trusts the 23XI crew to deliver. He pointed out that at the end of the day, it’s just a reimagined version of the Next-Gen Camary, and there aren’t many changes that are concerning.

I think if anything, there’s always a chance it could be off a couple numbers here or there from the tunnel to the track, but I don’t think it’ll be anything crazy. The car is certainly reimagined, but it’s still a Next Gen car… there’s a lot of pieces that didn’t necessarily change too much. So, for me, it’s not even a concern.