April 8, 2022 | By Lee Spencer

Denny Hamlin is learning that the driver/owner balancing act isn't always ideal

MARTINSVILLE, Va.--Denny Hamlin did not mince words when reflecting on the growing pains of 23XI Racing. 

Despite the No. 23 squad going to Victory Lane in its first season with Bubba Wallace behind the wheel, expanding to two teams and adapting to the evolution of the new car has taken its toll on the driver/owner. 

Hamlin finally broke Toyota’s winless streak with his victory at Richmond Raceway on Sunday, but there’s no doubt that the performance of his own organization is weighing heavily on the driver. 

“We’re just trying to stop the bleeding there,” Hamlin said. “I said earlier this week that the win was really exciting until you get out of the car and you look down the pylon and say, ‘What the f**k? What’s going on? It’s agitating because it’s different things with different teams, but it’s just a two-week slump that we’ve got to get out of. We’re trying to address all of the issues that there is. 

“The 23 car’s--the pit crew isn’t doing well. I’m in a meeting with Joe Gibbs Racing and I thank them for everything they do for me and then I walk out of there into another meeting and I’m cussing them out 'cause they’re not doing a good enough job over there. It’s just a very interesting thing that goes on but it’s part of it. Then the freak thing that happens with the 45. We got a new sponsor over there and the car is sitting in the garage for a 100 laps.  

“So, it’s agitating, but hopefully, we look back on this two months from now and it’s just a bump in the road cause certainly, it’s not acceptable by any means.” 

Kurt Busch doesn’t seem worried. He started the season solid enough with three top 10s and two top-five finishes in the first five races. But after a 39th-place finish at Circuit of the Americas and last week’s mechanical mystery at Richmond with resulted in Busch finishing 35th, the former Cup champion has dropped from fifth in the standings to 18th in as many weeks. 

“With the new team, I think that could have happened to anybody,” Busch said. “But I look at it as ‘Alright, the driver’s allowed to mess up once, the pit crew could mess up once. I could have a mechanical gremlin. We're done with all those now. So, we've definitely got to put together nice, consistent runs in practice, stages and race finishes. 

“We've been through a lot already with as a new team with top fives, laps lead, mechanical problems, so we're checking off all the boxes. And it's cool this weekend even to have like a collaborative sponsorship with McDonald's and Money Lion, and so we're getting everything done here in the early part of the year.” 

Busch doesn’t believe the issues 23XI is experiencing now are simply part of the traditional genesis associated with a new team. He believes rolling out a new car with a limited amount of practice is contributing to the struggles.  

“It's not typical because the Next Gen element and 20 minutes of practice with qualifying 20 minutes right after that, it used to be where we had an hour of practice, three sets of tires, couple of hours of debrief and then go into a qualifying session and then still have changes that you can make overnight. 

“Now everything is just ‘boom!’ Twenty minutes of qualify, impound, go home, show back up for a race tomorrow at  8:00pm. So it's a whole different cycle. It's a whole different adjustment from all categories.” 

At 43, Busch has learned to roll with the ups and downs associated with racing. Throughout his 24-year career there have been many. But with 23XI, he knows this is one of the best opportunities he’s had to excel.  

“Yeah, you just got to find that rhythm where you find the comfort and the success with it,” Busch said. “So it's not just a matter of going, ‘Wow, it was easier then and it's more difficult now. Or was it more difficult then and easier now you just have to find that rhythm that makes speed.” 

Busch was encouraged to see the Hamlin win at Richmond. He believes it’s a harbinger of Toyota’s potential. 

“I think everybody was excited at JGR to go to that track and then to have that many fast cars and then to win,” Busch said. “Yes it shows JGR, 23XI, all of us can win, but then, yes, they were stressing because they had no points and had a long season ahead of them before they won. 

“But we knew Danny would pull it off and congrats to that group, Denny (Chris) Gabehart and everybody. They're the ones that I think are the anchor of the system, and so now it gives everybody else more motivation. Not that we didn't have it, but to get the job done.” 

Busch has always excelled at short tracks. Ten of his 33 Cup victories have come in this stretch of races. But he believes Talladega will offer the first glimpse of what the No. 45 team is capable of accomplishing. 

“Every week right now is a fresh, clean slate,” Busch said. “It feels like it's my rookie year or my second year on the circuit where there's so much newness and I've got a fun job. 

“I just kind of look at these three weeks in general. Richmond, Martinsville, Bristol as a chunk of short track races, and then we go to Talladega. That's the first time we're really going back to a sister track like Daytona. That's where our numbers need to start adding up and grabbing that traction.”