Pit This Time may earn a commission when you buy through links on this page. It never affects our coverage. Learn more.
Denny Hamlin said putting Brad Keselowski in 23XI Racing‘s part-time car for the 2027 Daytona 500 would be difficult, because there is no long-term future in it for the team.
Hamlin, a 23XI co-owner, was asked about the idea Saturday at Martinsville Speedway, hours after RFK Racing released Keselowski to drive for another team.
Hamlin: ‘We’re definitely the old guys in the group’
“I don’t know, we’re definitely the old guys in the group,” Hamlin said. “I don’t know, I mean, I think that what’s probably difficult truthfully about that is that I don’t think there’s a long-term play there for us.”
“So then you let someone into your part-time program and see all the things, and then goes and does something else. That probably would be the challenge for us.”
“But I think that he’ll land somewhere good. And he’s certainly got enough knowledge and skills still left in him that I think he can still be successful.”
Corey Heim will drive full time for 23XI in 2027, with Riley Herbst leaving for Legacy Motor Club, which leaves the team’s part-time program open.
Keselowski: Ownership ‘not a prerequisite’
At his news conference Saturday, Keselowski was asked whether owning part of a team was a requirement for his next ride.
“I would say it does not have to be, no,” Keselowski said. “That’s not like a prerequisite. And I certainly don’t want to limit the opportunities to, if I don’t own the team or control the different aspects, that I wouldn’t do it. But I would say that it is something I do value, for sure.”
Hamlin’s earlier offer
Hamlin said on his Actions Detrimental podcast that he contacted Keselowski about driving for 23XI when Keselowski was leaving Team Penske after the 2021 season, but the two were far apart.
“And Brad was very firm on, I want this amount of money and ownership. And I was like, ‘Whoa, what?’ And he was very steadfast that’s what he believes his value is,” Hamlin said.
Keselowski instead joined Roush Fenway Racing in 2022 as a driver and co-owner, and the team became RFK Racing. Hamlin said he understood why, since he started 23XI with Michael Jordan for the same reason.
“As a driver, listen, it’s why I had to start my own race team. Because when I was kicking the tires on a few race teams that I was looking to invest in, I never was going to get enough say-so to make me really feel like I truly had enough stake in the game,” Hamlin said. “And I think that no one can argue the results that Brad has gotten out of Roush Fenway to Roush Fenway Keselowski.”
Reddick agrees
23XI driver Tyler Reddick, who drove for Keselowski earlier in his career, said Hamlin made a fair point. “It probably wouldn’t be a long-term planning spot,” Reddick said, as Pit This Time reported.
Keselowski has two races left in RFK’s No. 6 Ford: Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville, where he starts 23rd, and the November 8 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Leave a Reply