Tyler Reddick is the talk of the town, or at least the center of conversation, in NASCAR nation right now. Four wins in six starts will do that for you. And it has led to a lot of speculation over where Reddick and the 23XI team stand in relation to the Big Three, Gibbs, Hendrick and Penske.
Just six years old, 23XI, owned by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan, is unquestionably making waves beyond its years. But they’re not big enough to wash over Gibbs, Hendrick and Penske. Because right now, 23XI is a one trick pony.
To be really competitive with the Big Three, you need to have outstanding leadership and direction at the top, the best people building and preparing your cars, and drivers who consistently perform at a high level.
Hamlin, whose many years with Gibbs give him an insight into how an elite organization is run, and Jordan, who has had unparalleled success in the NBA, provide the necessary leadership.
Whether or not 23XI has developed enough skilled engine builders, mechanics, fabricators, data processors, etc, to compete at an elite level is still open to question, and it definitely has to improve the talent behind the wheel. Reddick can’t hold 23XI up by himself.
That said, if you look around, 23XI is still in the best position to eventually put itself on a par with the Big Three. For a while Trackhouse, owned by Justin Marks, was considered the Cup team most likely to make a move.
But Trackhouse does not appear to have the necessary resources to consistently compete with the Big Three, and in fact its performance has declined in recent years.
For one thing, it gets limited help from Chevrolet, while 23XI has a working agreement and full backing from Toyota through Joe Gibbs Racing.
And as the Big Three have improved the performance of their Next Gen cars, Trackhouse, a much smaller operation, has struggled. The best example of that is Ross Chastain, who has always been Trackhouse’s lead driver.
In 2023, Chastain scored 385 points on the Old Guy Sport competition index and finished fifth overall in the standings. The OGS competition index is being used instead of the NASCAR point system because it rewards racing, not finishing, which is still the primary criteria for NASCAR.
But Trackhouse immediately began falling off after that, as Chastain’s OGS totals indicate. In 2024, he fell to 183 points and in 2025, he was down to 124. This year, he has just two points after four races (OGS does not count superspeedways in its totals because winning on a superspeedway, like Daytona or Atlanta,, is basically a matter of luck.)
Meanwhile, led by Reddick, 23XI is thriving. Reddick did not perform well in 2025 when he scored just 154 points, but several things beyond his control, including too many mistakes on and off the track and poor decision making by the team as a whole, contributed to that.
Still, as mentioned, if 23XI is going to take the next step, it has to have more than one competent wheelman. Bubba Wallace, the first driver signed by 23XI, has been solid but not spectacular and doesn’t seem to be improving. Riley Herbst is new this year and is having trouble getting going.
Astute as ever, Hamlin has no illusions as to where his team stands. On his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin was clear about where 23XI is now and what it needs to do if it is truly going to challenge the Big Three.
To be on a par with Gibbs, Hendrick and Penske, Hamlin said 23XI must have “long term, sustained success with multiple drivers. That’s the simplest definition I can give you.
“We’re in the neighborhood,” Hamlin continued. “We’ve got the framing up. Foundation’s built. The sticks are going up. Walls, roof are soon to follow,”
Hamlin added.
In other words, 23XI still has a ways to go, but it’s getting there. After he won the race at Darlington, Reddick was asked if 23XI was now at the same level as the Big Three.
“I’ll let y’all figure that out,” Reddick replied according to NASCAR’s website. “We’ll just keep working hard and winning races, and we’ll let you guys (the media) figure that part out. I don’t need to say anything about it.”
NASCAR NOTES
Three most likely winners at Martinsville: 1-Christopher Bell, 2-Kyle Larson, 3-Ryan Blaney. Last year’s winner in Martinsville spring race: Denny Hamlin. Top five in Martinsville spring race last year: 1-Hamlin, 2-Bell, 3-Bubba Wallace, 4-Chase Elliott, 5-Larson.
Last week’s Darlington picks: 1-Bell, 2-Larson, 3-Hamlin. Darlington winner: Tyler Reddick. Old Guy Sport record after four races, 2-2.
OGS competition index top 10: 1-Reddick 138 points, 2-Bell 115, 3-Hamlin 86, 4-Blaney 84, 5-Brad Keselowski 63, 6-Ty Gibbs 52, 7-Larson 43, 8-Shane van Gisbergen 41, Elliott 41, 10-William Byron 35.
OGS competition index top 10 on short tracks (tracks most similar to Martinsville): 1-Bell 61, 2-Blaney 53, 3-Larson 30, 4-Gibbs 20, 5-Hamlin 11, Joey Logano 11, 7-Ryan Preece 1.
