Hamlin Acknowledges 23XI Future in Flux Amid NASCAR Lawsuit

By David Morgan, Associate Editor

AVONDALE, Ariz. – 23XI Racing enters the NASCAR Cup Series season finale with a shot at the championship with Tyler Reddick and the No. 45 Toyota, but beyond this weekend in Phoenix, the future of the organization is very much in flux.

With 23XI and NASCAR currently embroiled in an anti-trust lawsuit stemming from the contentious charter negotiations between the two parties, Hamlin has had to juggle both the on-track of fighting for a championship with Reddick – a first for both driver and team – as well as the off-track battle with NASCAR in the courtroom.

The two parties met in federal court earlier this week for their first hearing on a temporary injunction to keep their current charters heading into 2025 while the litigation with the sanctioning body plays out.

That injunction was denied by the judge on Friday, but Hamlin explained that he is pleased with the positive step of the case continuing to move forward even though the team lost the first battle.

“My adrenaline was pumping because obviously you hear the arguments and what not and of course we feel very adamant on our side of things,” Hamlin explained.

“Certainly, when you wake up on Friday morning and you know something is coming, you’re nervous because obviously I’ve poured a lot into this sport in multiple ways and certainly financially over the last four years. I’ve put back a lot of the money I got out of it back into it and certainly all could wiped away pretty quickly.

“Certainly, it’s a nervous time for me and we just hope that this thing gets resolved in a peaceful manner or in a correct manner to fix it. I’m just – it’s got its ups and downs for sure, but it’s difficult because you can’t control it right? I can’t rely on my instincts or things like that to change the outcome or the results. It’s just the facts are the facts.

“I’ve just never been a part of anything like this, but certainly hate that we’re in the situation that we’re in after everything that we’ve put into the support over the last four years.”

Hamlin added that how the court case plays out in the end will have a direct bearing on the future of 23XI for 2025 and beyond. Right now, it’s all up in the air.

“I think it’s all TBD. There’s certain things that we’re going to have to navigate so I hope so.”

Given the dynamic of 23XI possibly winning the championship on Sunday and then heading into the unknown over the offseason, Hamlin noted this is nothing new in the sport, citing Furniture Row exiting NASCAR two years after winning the title in 2017.

“Furniture Row did it. They ceased to exist after a championship. I think that depending who you ask, I think on one side they could care less whether you’re here or not and for us, we certainly have got a lot of people that have put their heart and souls into this team and want to see it succeed,” Hamlin said.

Regardless of the team’s unknown future, Hamlin pointed to how far his team has come in its short tenure in the sport, making it to the championship race in the fourth year of its existence.

“We’ve got an obligation to our team to try to do everything we can to have a fair system. So, we’re just one of the ones that got stuck on the front line and so it’s part of it. Trust me, there’s nothing more we want than to win this weekend,” Hamlin said.

“Certainly, there’s a lot of emphasis on trying to win this race and Tyler’s (Reddick) is going to give it his best go. This is a really, really new team and certainly it was an accomplishment to get to this point.”