Bubba Wallace has signed a multiyear contract extension to continue driving for 23XI Racing, the NASCAR team co-owned by Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin.
23XI announced the renewal via social media Wednesday, and it comes during an unsettled time for the team. Twelve days ago, 23XI and Front Row Motorsports declined to sign NASCAR’s new charter deal — despite NASCAR threatening to revoke the charters of any team that did not meet their deadline.
At the time, Wallace said his contract talks were being held up by the uncertainty surrounding the charters — which could significantly impact 23XI’s finances if a deal is not reached.
“My process has been kind of going hand-in-hand with the charter agreement,” Wallace said on Sept. 7. “It’s frustrating to see where we’re at because that impacts my life and livelihood and everything moving forward for my future.”
No known progress has been made since then, and Hamlin said Saturday the team had yet to hear from NASCAR (which has not said how it will react to the charter agreement holdouts).
Meanwhile, 23XI did not reveal any additional details of Wallace’s extension Wednesday.
It’s been somewhat of a disappointing season for Wallace, who missed the NASCAR playoffs this year after failing to win during the 26-race regular season. NASCAR awards automatic playoff berths to any full-time driver who wins a race and leaves the rest for the next-highest drivers in the point standings, but Wallace was too far down in the points to qualify for the 16-driver field.
Still, Wallace has already matched his career highs in top-five finishes and top-10s with eight races remaining this season and ranks 13th in average finish.
Both of Wallace’s two career Cup Series victories (Talladega in 2021 and Kansas in 2022) have come while driving for 23XI.
Why the move makes sense
Throughout the summer, even amid Wallace’s current contract inching closer to its expiration date and 23XI’s ongoing bitter negotiations with NASCAR over a new charter deal, there was never any real consideration that Wallace and 23XI would split. Hamlin even told The Athletic in May, “We’re close. We’re very close.”
The stance for all involved really hasn’t changed — even with the charter negotiations growing more acrimonious. Wallace wanted to stay and 23XI wanted to keep him. And now the news is official. It’s a continuation of a driver-team pairing that fits well for both parties that will keep moving forward.
Wallace has unwavering support from 23XI, a level of support he lacked for much of his career before joining them in 2021. This has allowed him to blossom into a multi-time race-winning driver, who continues to improve year after year.
From the 23XI perspective, they have a driver in Wallace who is both talented and personable. The kind of driver sponsors want to be associated with, which has helped propel 23XI into becoming one of NASCAR’s best organizations that continues to raise its overall performance. Just this year, Tyler Reddick, Wallace’s teammate, won the regular-season points championship, a noteworthy accomplishment for a team in only its fourth year of existence.
This has always been the kind of contract extension that makes too much sense not to happen. The only question was when it would be made official, which we now know the answer to. — Jordan Bianchi, motorsports staff writer
Required reading
(Photo: Jonathan Bachman / Getty)
