The New Hampshire Motor Speedway race delivered a blow to 23XI Racing, as both of the team’s playoff drivers, Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace, faltered on a pivotal Sunday. As 23XI Racing playoff struggles deepen with only two rounds left to stave off elimination, the team faces an urgent fight to advance in the NASCAR Cup Series postseason.
Troubled Outings for Reddick and Wallace at New Hampshire
On a day marked by high drama at New Hampshire, the spotlight fell not only on Team Penske’s superiority but also on the misfortunes of 23XI Racing. Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs had their own on-track feud, and Hendrick Motorsports put three playoff contenders in the top 10. In contrast, 23XI Racing saw both of its entries stumble badly. Tyler Reddick started the afternoon strong, showing top-10 speed, but his fortunes soured during a critical pit stop on lap 256. As Kyle Larson exited the pit lane just as Reddick tried to enter, the No. 45 team was forced to abort their plan, and Reddick restarted deep in the field, ultimately finishing in 21st place.
For Bubba Wallace, the ordeal was even more grueling, as he endured a difficult race with persistent handling issues and never found competitiveness. He ended up one lap down in 26th position, capping what he described as
the longest day I’ve had in a racecar in a long time.
– Bubba Wallace, Driver
Wallace’s team reported several times over the radio that the car was off the pace, leaving them unable to recover lost ground. The struggles placed both 23XI drivers at the bottom of the playoff grid. Reddick sits in 11th, twenty-three points below the cut line, while Wallace holds 12th, four points further back, intensifying their postseason predicament.
Drivers React to Setbacks and Analyze Performance
Both drivers and the team acknowledged the unexpected lack of speed at Loudon. Wallace shared his perspective, saying:
It looks like our whole team struggled just to find the speed and the feel that we needed,
– Bubba Wallace, Driver
I said before this is a tricky place, but to be that far off, it kind of caught all of us by surprise.
– Bubba Wallace, Driver
Reddick’s assessment echoed the disappointment. He admitted the car declined as the race unfolded, departing far from their goals as the laps ticked away. Reddick reflected:
As the day went on, it just seemed like the car got further and further away,
– Tyler Reddick, Driver
Head-scratching for sure. Based on how the day started, I thought we were going to run inside the top 10 pretty straight up. But yeah, as the day went on, we just continued to slide backwards, and we finished 21st.
– Tyler Reddick, Driver
Both drivers left New Hampshire with more questions than answers, now facing an uphill battle in their push to advance in the playoffs.
Kansas Speedway Offers Hope—With Reservations
Post-race conversations quickly turned to Kansas Speedway, the next stop in the postseason, where 23XI Racing has a track record of winning. In 2022, Bubba Wallace scored a significant victory for the team at Kansas, piloting the No. 45 car to the checkered flag. Tyler Reddick followed up by earning a win a year later, executing a memorable three-wide move on a late restart. Kurt Busch also delivered a win at Kansas in spring 2022, meaning the track has yielded a third of the organization’s nine total successes.
Despite this encouraging history, both Wallace and Reddick admit that recent Kansas outings have been less fruitful. Wallace notched a top-5 this spring, but his four most recent finishes at the venue are 33rd, 17th, 17th, and 32nd. Notably, only one of those runs brought stage points, and an accident in the fall 2023 race derailed a promising performance. As stage points have been central to Wallace’s and the team’s season, securing them at Kansas is essential, but far from a given due to their recent form.
For Reddick, Kansas has also been a source of frustration. His last three finishes there have been 17th, 25th, and 20th. The No. 45 team’s campaign has been inconsistent: while Reddick was a regular top-10 presence in points, race-winning speed has been elusive except for flashes at the Daytona 500 and the Southern 500. So far in 2025, he has only led 156 laps in total—a number that illustrates the need for improvement if he is to rejoin the chase in earnest.
Charlotte ROVAL: A Potential Lifeline in the Playoff Round
Should the Kansas gamble not pay off, the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL may provide an alternate route to playoff survival. Bubba Wallace has averaged an 11.5 finish on the ROVAL with 23XI, collecting stage points in his last two appearances. Tyler Reddick’s record is even stronger, averaging seventh place over his two 23XI starts, including a charge through the pack last year that barely thrust him past Joey Logano in the standings after Alex Bowman’s disqualification.
The need for composure and tenacity will be high if 23XI’s playoff situation deteriorates. The Reddick-Logano duel demonstrated that this team can fight through adversity, but the margin for error is now razor-thin as the competitive field closes in.
Challenges and Off-Track Turmoil Compound the Pressure
The New Hampshire disappointment is merely the latest strain in a turbulent season for 23XI Racing. Legal tension surrounds the organization, as the team’s lawsuit with NASCAR has jeopardized its charters. The challenges extend to the driver lineup as well: Tyler Reddick is still trying to capture another win, and rookie Riley Herbst remains winless and sits a lowly 35th in points. Wallace’s Brickyard 400 triumph stands out as a rare positive, but that alone won’t offset the threat of two playoff drivers potentially being cut in this round.
In order to revive hopes and stay above the cutoff line, the team must have a strong showing at Kansas. As Wallace summed up after New Hampshire, regaining momentum is crucial before heading to the ROVAL. Time, however, is running short. The performance gap with rivals like Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, and others is apparent, intensifying pressure on the team to deliver immediate results. Failure to regroup quickly could see New Hampshire remembered as the turning point that ended 23XI’s championship aspirations for the 2025 season.
