Denny Hamlin Reveals Brutal Truth About 23XI’s Kansas Playoff Chances

“Can you and 23XI win a championship this year with everything going on?”

“Yeah,” Denny Hamlin told the media confidently before the start of the playoffs last month.

And to be fair, there were reasons for optimism. However, the Round of 16 gave 23XI Racing some sparks. At Darlington, Tyler Reddick stormed to 2nd while Bubba Wallace battled for a strong 6th. Gateway offered headaches, with Wallace slotting into 8th, and Reddick finished 16th. Then came Bristol, and the bottom dropped out. Wallace wrecked to 34th, Reddick faded to 15th, and suddenly their advancement was in real danger. Now, with the Round of 12 race at Loudon behind, fans and insiders alike are asking a blunt question. Just how much playoff ground does 23XI have left to stand on?

Denny Hamlin calls out 23XI’s playoff challenge

“Not a good weekend for them.” Denny Hamlin didn’t mince words after watching 23XI Racing’s New Hampshire performance this Sunday, where both Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick struggled to find speed or comfort. Wallace finished 26th, a lap down and wrestling a difficult car, while Reddick faded to 21st after pit road issues and balance struggles.

As Hamlin put it on the Actions Detrimental podcast, “Wherever we were, they were 10 spots behind, right? Just no speed…they were below mediocre. Just didn’t have the speed, didn’t have the handling, whatever it was.” This setback dropped 23XI dangerously close to elimination. Reddick now sits 11th in playoff points, 23 below the Round of 8 cutline. Wallace, the final driver on the playoff grid, sits four points behind Reddick with two races left to turn things around.

Credit: Ethan Smith | For NASCAR Digital Media

“They are in a must-run-really-well part of the playoffs,” Hamlin laid out the plan, if 23XI wants to advance in the playoffs. “They have to run really well, like they need a 50-point day and then follow that up at the next track with a 35-point day, and I think they have a chance.”

Denny Hamlin’s tension with Ty Gibbs

Denny Hamlin isn’t one to dance around drama, and after New Hampshire, he made it pretty clear where he stood on the growing tension with Ty Gibbs. The two Joe Gibbs Racing teammates clashed on track in a moment that turned ugly fast. Hamlin spun Gibbs out after a back-and-forth battle for position. For Hamlin, who’s in the thick of the playoffs, the run-in raised big questions about how JGR is handling its drivers.

“What I want to happen is just leadership stepping in and telling us what to do,” Hamlin explained. “If you want us to race each other cutthroat, no matter what your position is in relation to the standings, we can definitely do that… Whatever those rules are, I will play by those rules.”

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Denny Hamlin’s point was simple: playoff drivers need at least some cooperation from their teammates. Other teams like Hendrick Motorsports and Team Penske manage this balance, but JGR hasn’t quite figured it out. And with Gibbs, who isn’t in the playoffs, racing as aggressively as anyone, it’s left Hamlin and Christopher Bell fighting uphill battles when they can least afford it.

“I felt as though (I was) a little bit wronged in the sense of my teammate out of the playoffs should not be the hardest car on the track to pass,” Hamlin said, admitting the spin wasn’t intentional but came after Gibbs repeatedly blocked both him and Bell. The incident ended Gibbs’ day early and only added to the friction brewing inside the team garage.

Looking ahead, Hamlin isn’t asking for favoritism, just structure. He wants JGR leadership to step in before things spiral further. “If I get eliminated or (Briscoe) gets eliminated or (Bell) gets eliminated and then we’ve established this ‘no rules, you guys just do whatever you want to do’ then none of us are going to win,” he said. For now, all eyes are on JGR’s next move as the playoff fight gets even hotter.

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