Denny Hamlin’s and Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing will add a second car in 2022, and Kurt Busch is emerging as the leading candidate to drive it, sources told The Athletic.
23XI Racing will expand to a two-car team for the 2022 Cup Series season, news that comes amid the team’s first season competing at the Cup level. The addition of a second car would not impact Bubba Wallace’s status with 23XI Racing; he will continue driving the No. 23 Toyota in 2022.
“Still working on some things,” Hamlin said Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, site of Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600. “Obviously, there’s a lot of moving pieces that have to go into it. I think we’re still progressing, just don’t have a timetable for it.”
Busch is in the final year of his contract with Chip Ganassi Racing. If he signs with 23XI Racing as expected, he’ll give the Jordan-Hamlin team a proven Cup winner whose experience would benefit the team as it works to establish itself. Busch has 32 victories and won the 2004 Cup championship in a career that began in 2001 and has included stints at Stewart-Haas Racing and Roush Fenway Racing.
You can read more about 23XI Racing’s expansion in the Go Deeper section below.
