Editor’s Note: Preview of Today’s 23XI Racing continue NASCAR.com’s countdown of team previews for the 2025 Cup Series season.
23XI RACE
Manufacturer: Toyota
Engine: Toyota Racing Development
Driver-team leader duos: Bubba Wallace-Charles Denike (No. 23), Riley Herbst-Davin Restivo (No. 35) Tyler Reddick-Billy Scott (No. 45)
Team Outlook: This is certainly an important season for the team with a new driver and crew chief duo of Bubba Wallace and Charles Denike and also an expansion to a third car bringing in a rookie, former regular at the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Riley Herbst. Reddick’s dramatic 2024 regular season championship and progression to the Cup Series trophy has high expectations and optimism. Wallace failed to qualify for the playoffs, after a career-high 10th place finish in the final standings a year earlier, but he excelled statistically and is hoping for a fresh start with a new leader. team will improve the situation. The organization — co-owned by NBA superstar Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin — now has four seasons under its belt and is successful enough for a significant three-team expansion by bringing in Herbst, 25 years.
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BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 23 TOYOTA
Experience: Seven full seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series
Statistics 2024: 18th in the final Cup Series standings; 0 wins, 6 top 5s, 14 top 10s
2025 Championship Odds (DraftKings): 65-1
Outlook: Despite career highs in the top five and top 10 last season, Wallace narrowly missed the playoffs. The team responded with a change at the top of the pit box and will now have a rookie crew chief in Charles Denike, a longtime engineer in the Xfinity and Truck Series who most recently led Christian Eckes’ title challenge for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing. Wallace – a two-time Cup Series winner at Talladega (2021) and Kansas (2022) – looks to celebrate a victory for the first time in three seasons. A third-place finish at the Bristol Night Race was his best performance of 2024. Four of his 14 top 10 finishes came in the 10 post-season races. Now, with seven full seasons at the elite level of NASCAR, expectations have risen. Wallace has proven to be a legitimate playoff contender and this team has proven itself fully capable of putting multiple cars in championship contention.
RILEY HERBST, NO. 35 TOYOTA
Experience: Rookie in the NASCAR Cup Series
Statistics 2024: 7th in the final Xfinity Series standings; 2 wins, 7 top 5s, 15 top 10s
2025 Championship Odds (DraftKings): Not listed
Outlook: In eight previous Cup Series starts – four in 2023 and four in 2024 – Herbst has two top-10 finishes – an impressive 10th place in his Daytona 500 debut in 2023 and a ninth place finish at Talladega Superspeedway that same season . He has spent the last four years competing for Stewart-Haas Racing’s Xfinity program, earning his first career victory at his hometown Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2023. He won at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway and responded with a bold statement in winning the season finale in Phoenix last year. All three career victories have come from crew chief Davin Restivo, who joins Herbst at 23XI Racing to sit atop the No. 35 crew pit box. Herbst has qualified for the Xfinity Series playoffs in four of his five full-time seasons and is coming off his career-best championship finish (seventh) and career-best lap mark (273). The success he and Restivo had last year will no doubt help Herbst’s transition. This is a fairly rare case where the driver and crew chief will be rookies together on the Cup grid, but 23XI Racing is the reigning regular season championship team, meaning resources will be abundant and expectations high despite the rookie status.
TYLER REDDICK, N0. 45 TOYOTA
Experience: Five full seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series
Statistics 2024: 4th in the final Cup Series standings; 3 wins, 12 top 5s, 21 top 10s, 3 pole positions
2025 Championship Odds (DraftKings): 8.5-1
Outlook: Following up and raising the bar on a tremendous 2024 season — his single-season wins, top-five and top-10 totals all tied or set career highs at NASCAR’s highest level — is a good task to accomplish. Last year’s regular season champion comes into the year as one of the favorites to win the title. The two-time Xfinity Series champion first qualified for Championship 4 last year, ultimately finishing fourth. Despite a plentiful regular season, Reddick only scored three top-10 finishes in the 10 playoff races – albeit a solid win from the pole position at Homestead-Miami Speedway. His total 597 laps led during the season were the highest in Championship 4. The continuity of crew chief Billy Scott will certainly help him in his desire to raise the level of play in 2025 after a career year at Cup level.
MORE: Reddick’s off-season bucket list
BOLD PREDICTION: This organization enters the 2025 season very motivated and equipped with numerous talents – in the car and in the garage – to achieve championship races. Expect Reddick and Wallace to party at Victory Lane and make the playoffs. Herbst should make a legitimate run at Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors. The big question will be how long it takes for the new combination of Wallace and Denike to find their footing and how long it will take for Herbst and Restivo to improve their game now as full-time starters in the premier league sports.