In a tense and challenging start to the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, 23XI Racing finds itself grappling with both declining on-track performance and an escalating legal confrontation with NASCAR. As of this week, the team’s charter status is under renewed threat, following questions raised by the US Court of Appeals about whether 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports deserve to retain their NASCAR charters or should be reclassified as open entries while their legal dispute continues.
Since December of last year, a judicial injunction has allowed 23XI Racing to compete as a chartered team. However, at the latest hearing on Friday, a three-judge panel openly questioned the reasoning behind the initial ruling, suggesting it might make more sense for the teams to compete without guaranteed spots until the case’s final resolution. This development leaves both 23XI Racing and their drivers in a state of immense uncertainty, compounding the pressure they are already facing on the racetrack.
The tension seems to be affecting performance, as 23XI Racing’s three drivers—Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, and Riley Herbst—have all endured a muted start to the current season. Reddick, who ended 2024 as regular season champion, is only sixth in points, while Wallace sits at tenth, and Herbst finds himself deep in the standings at thirty-second. Notably, the team has yet to celebrate a race victory this year, with Wallace’s recent fourth DNF in Kansas underscoring their current struggles.
NASCAR expert Jeff Gluck voiced his dismay on the Teardown podcast, stating,
“23XI, they’re weird, man. They’ve fallen off. What’s up with that? I don’t get that at all.”
Continuing, Gluck explained,
“Reddick might’ve had the fastest car at Texas, he just never got the track position.”
Even predictions about translating speed across different tracks have not materialized, as Gluck observed,
“they just didn’t really show anything.”
As legal questions remain unresolved and on-track results continue to disappoint, frustration and discontent are becoming evident within the 23XI Racing camp. The risk of losing charter status threatens the team’s stability, while lackluster results could make sponsorships and future plans more precarious. What comes next depends both on the outcome of the appeal and whether the team can overcome adversity, but for now, the sense of distress and tension surrounding 23XI Racing is impossible to ignore.
