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Charlotte, NC – In a candid revelation on his "Actions Detrimental" podcast, 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin has shed light on the intricate relationship between his burgeoning NASCAR Cup Series team and the established powerhouse Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), detailing how 23XI is leveraging shared technical data to achieve superior on-track performance. While the two organizations operate under a strategic alliance, with 23XI reportedly paying JGR an estimated $8 million annually for technical support and data, Hamlin emphasized that the information exchange is a reciprocal flow, a fact that underpins 23XI’s recent surge in competitiveness.
This discussion comes at a time when 23XI Racing, particularly with driver Tyler Reddick, has experienced an exceptional start to the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. Reddick has secured an impressive four victories within the opening six races, a performance that has placed him firmly in championship contention and elevated 23XI’s profile significantly. This success, juxtaposed with the performance of JGR’s own formidable stable of drivers, has naturally led to scrutiny and speculation regarding the dynamics of their technical partnership.
Hamlin articulated that the collaboration ensures a comprehensive understanding of each team’s developmental trajectory. "We’re always privy to what they’re doing as well as they know what we’re doing," Hamlin stated on his podcast, underscoring the transparency inherent in their alliance. This mutual awareness, he suggests, is not merely about sharing raw data but about a collective intelligence that both entities can tap into.
The critical question then arises: how do two teams, ostensibly operating with access to the same foundational technical information, arrive at divergent and, in 23XI’s case, more successful setup choices? Hamlin provided a detailed, albeit simplified, explanation of the iterative process that begins well in advance of race weekends.
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"It starts about a week and a half to two weeks in advance," Hamlin explained, describing the initial stages of race preparation. "The teams will start coming up with a baseline setup. Like, ‘here’s the general shock, springs, weights of the car that we think is correct.’" This baseline is not static; it is a living document, continually refined through rigorous simulation and modeling. "As they run sim and simulation models, it will continue to evolve and as they get more information, it just starts to evolve," he added.
Crucially, the input from the drivers plays a pivotal role in shaping these evolving setups. "And then the drivers send the teams down a certain path of ‘what I want my car to do’," Hamlin noted. This driver-specific feedback loop is where subtle, yet significant, deviations can begin to emerge. While both teams are working from a common pool of data, the interpretation and application of that data, filtered through the unique demands of each driver and the specific strategic objectives of each team, can lead to distinct directions.
Hamlin admitted a degree of surprise at the magnitude of the performance gap that has emerged, particularly in the early races of 2026. "So I think that we probably… I wasn’t aware that they were in a different place, like a far different place… far, far away from where we were until like the weekend," he confessed. This suggests that while the data sharing is robust, the ultimate implementation and refinement of setups can lead to outcomes that surprise even those involved. He also humorously added, "But again, we’re all just guessing." This statement, while lighthearted, highlights the inherent uncertainty and the element of calculated risk involved in optimizing race car performance, even with advanced tools.
When pressed on his personal engagement with JGR’s setup sheets, Hamlin clarified that his focus remains squarely on his own team’s needs and performance. "I don’t look at setup sheets or anything like that," he stated. His approach is one of focused execution rather than comparative analysis during the critical pre-race and race-day phases. "It’s always different for every team, certainly on any given week. I don’t have time to then, ‘Alright, I’ve locked in my setup, let me see what other people have come up with.’"
However, Hamlin did concede that he might review competitor data retrospectively, particularly after a race, to identify potential areas for improvement. "I have done it post-race before and said, ‘Okay, that person was successful with that. Let me run that. Let me see what that feels like.’ That probably will happen today," he admitted, referring to the potential for post-race analysis of winning strategies.
His primary strategy, he emphasized, is to rely on his deep understanding of his own car’s requirements at various tracks. "But generally speaking, I just focus on what I need because at so many of these racetracks, I have a really good understanding of the feel that I need in my car to go win," Hamlin asserted. This personal expertise, combined with the data insights provided by 23XI’s engineering department, forms the bedrock of his approach.
Ultimately, Hamlin’s explanation points to a scenario where 23XI Racing has, in the initial stages of the 2026 season, demonstrated a superior ability to translate shared technical data into winning race car configurations. The "deviation in set-up choices," as Hamlin put it, stems from a complex interplay of simulation, driver feedback, and the strategic interpretation of that information by the 23XI engineering team.
The alliance between 23XI Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing, while a strategic necessity for 23XI’s development, also creates a unique competitive dynamic. JGR, a team with a long and storied history of success in NASCAR, is effectively sharing its hard-won knowledge with a team it also competes against. This arrangement, while mutually beneficial in terms of financial stability for JGR and technical advancement for 23XI, inevitably leads to situations where the "student" can outperform the "teacher."
The current success of Tyler Reddick and 23XI Racing serves as a testament to the effectiveness of their data utilization and setup strategies. As the 2026 season progresses, it will be fascinating to observe whether JGR can recalibrate its approach to narrow the performance gap, or if 23XI’s data-driven methodology will continue to yield a competitive edge, not just against JGR, but against the entire NASCAR Cup Series field. The intricate dance of data sharing, interpretation, and driver preference within this powerful alliance continues to be a key storyline in the ongoing narrative of NASCAR’s premier series.
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