Denny Hamlin predicts future of struggling 23XI – Sports News
Denny Hamlin is standing firmly behind struggling 23XI Racing driver Riley Herbst, making it clear he expects to see enchancment from the younger driver this season and reinforcing why the staff dedicated to him with a multi-year deal.
Herbst enters the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season seeking to rebound from a tough rookie yr behind the wheel of 23XI Racing’s No. 35 Toyota.
After ending thirty fifth within the last standings in 2025 with no top-10 outcomes and solely eight top-20 finishes, questions have been raised about his efficiency and potential.
Herbst opened his rookie marketing campaign with a Seventeenth-place end at Daytona and logged a 21.4 average end over the primary 5 races, however the season unraveled after the West Coast swing, with solely 4 top-20 finishes throughout the ultimate 31 races and 10 finishes of thirtieth or worse.
At a current pre-season press gathering, Hamlin, who co-owns 23XI with Michael Jordan, addressed the scrutiny head-on and outlined his expectations for Herbst’s second full season with the staff.
“We’ve got to see better performance, for sure,” Hamlin stated. “I think that certainly, where the 35 (Herbst) was running last year was just not up to what we expect.”
Hamlin didn’t conceal his perception that Herbst has the expertise to be a more aggressive Cup driver, however emphasised that progress must be more apparent this yr.
“We signed a multi-year agreement with Riley because we want to see where it goes in the second year,” Hamlin defined.
“At this point, he’s got enough starts where learning the car shouldn’t be the main focus anymore.”
“And certainly I want to see a gain in performance. Needs to be challenging inside that top 10, top 15 — that’s where we expect our cars to run.”
Hamlin particularly invoked the staff’s broader aggressive objectives, noting that skilled teammates like Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace need to be in competition for race wins more usually, and by implication, that the No. 35 car ought to be nearer to that degree.
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