“I wish that they were here”: Tyler Reddick makes his opinion known about suspended 23XI Racing personnel 

Tyler Reddick recently gave his views on the absence of his suspended teammates for the Championship 4 race at the Phoneix Raceway on November 10, 2024. The aftermath of a controversial Xfinity 500 race resulted in the suspension of key members of the 23XI Racing team, including their competition director Dave Rogers.

NASCAR imposed penalties on 23XI Racing for supposed race manipulation by slowing down Bubba Wallace in the final lap to help JGR driver Christopher Bell gain one place to secure his spot in the final race. The penalties included a one-race suspension for 23XI's crew chief Bootie Barker, spotter Freddie Kraft, and competition director Dave Rogers.

Furthermore, Bubba Wallace and team owners Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin were also fined $100k each and deducted 50 driver and owner points.

Given their one-race suspension, Bootie Barker, Freddie Kraft, and Dave Rogers will be notable absentees at the Cup Series championship race on Sunday.

On November 8, NASCAR journalist and analyst for FOX Sports, Bob Pockrass shared a clip of an interview with Tyler Reddick commenting on his teammates' absence in the final race.

"Feel like we have good depth. We got great people. Personally, I wish Dave and Bootie were here for sure, but I don't know. I think Dave does a really good job with his role. Bootie is a great leader of his team, and I think they'll be able to do what they need to do this weekend. So yeah, I guess personally, I wish that they were here. Things go well to celebrate this moment," Tyler Reddick said [00:12]

As per the new arrangement, Eric Phillips will replace Bootie Barker as the crew chief for the #23 driver Bubba Wallace at the Phoneix race. Previously, Tyler Reddick made history for 23XI by winning the Homestead-Miami race and becoming the team's first driver to secure a spot in the Championship 4 race.

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23XI's lawyer on Tyler Reddick's uncertain future with the team

23XI Racing lawyer Jeffery Kessler said that Tyler Reddick's future with 23XI depended on the preliminary injunction hearing. Kessler highlighted that the team might lose Reddick, arguably having his best season since 2021, at a crucial stage.

NASCAR asked all the Cup Series teams to sign the new charter agreement by September 6. The teams failing to sign the contract by the given deadline were at risk of losing their existing charters for the upcoming racing seasons.

However, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports did not sign the contract and sued the sanctioning association for alleged malpractices. The teams even requested a temporary charter grant, but NASCAR denied their request.

Tyler Reddick's team's lawyer, Jeffery Kessler, summarized the situation and commented (as quoted by AP):

"We have a potential champion who would be free to leave, and we’d never get him back. This could put these teams out of business. You can’t go to a stock car team and ask them to become a Formula 1 team.”

The Cup Series teams 23XI Racing and FRM are waiting for the final verdict of the U.S. District Court in Charlotte, North Carolina.