Bubba Wallace is staying put with 23XI Racing, as the team announced his contract extension on Wednesday. While the extension was always expected, the finalization took a little longer than anticipated due to ongoing discussions between NASCAR and its teams over the sport’s charter agreement.
According to Yahoo! Sports, 23XI Racing, co-owned by Denny Hamlin and NBA legend Michael Jordan, is one of the two teams that have not signed NASCAR’s new charter agreement. The current charter agreement expires at the end of the season, and teams, including 23XI, have been negotiating for a bigger slice of the revenue from NASCAR’s new media rights deal, which starts in 2025.
Wallace had acknowledged that the uncertainty around the charter deal was affecting his contract negotiations. “That’s what we’re waiting on,” Wallace told reporters two weeks ago, explaining that the charter negotiations were impacting his future and livelihood.
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Despite the delays, the extension is now in place, ensuring that Wallace will continue racing for 23XI.
Though 23XI hasn’t signed the charter agreement, there’s no indication that the team plans to exit NASCAR. Should the team remain without charters next season, Wallace and teammate Tyler Reddick could still compete as “open” cars in every race.
The charter system guarantees spots and higher purse shares for chartered teams, but with fewer than 40 cars typically entering races, there’s minimal risk of Wallace missing out.
While Wallace missed the playoffs this season, he’s still had solid performances with five top-five finishes and 10 top 10s. Over his four seasons with 23XI Racing, he’s secured two wins and even finished 10th in the points standings last year. Meanwhile, his teammate Tyler Reddick is having a strong season, currently sitting sixth in the points standings after winning the regular-season title.
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