Michael Jordan and Co.’s Cup Series Gamble Failing to Yield Results Amidst Other Growing Interests

If there is one team to watch out for in 2025, it has to be 23XI Racing. Tyler Reddick won the regular season championship last year, and he took the young team into the championship 4 for the first time. Also, Bubba Wallace found his form in the second half of the season. And it seems like he’s brought that into 2025, too. Six races in the #23 driver have one top 5 and two top 10s, putting him in P7 in points. While Tyler Reddick is in P4. Also, folks, this season, they are a three-man lineup. But one of them might not be performing the way fans anticipated!

The team, owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan and NASCAR veteran Denny Hamlin, was stoked to expand to a three-driver team. But now, the NASCAR community is discussing if Riley Herbst was the right choice. Clearly, Denny Hamlin’s verdict is proving to be wrong. During the signing, the #11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver had claimed, “My expectations are that he (Herbst) is going to perform better than 95 percent of people’s expectations.” Well, 23XI Racing has a prodigy in their camp. Will Herbst be replaced soon?

Was Riley Herbst the right choice?

We are six races into the season, and Herbst has yet to show that spark, which got him that seat. Remember the 2024 Xfinity Series finale at Phoenix? Herbst wasn’t part of the championship 4, but after a spectacular run, he won the race ahead of the Xfinity Series champion, Justin Allgaier. And Herbst opened his post-race press conference addressing all his haters: “How about that s—, eh?” And clearly, his team owners were probably moved by his potential. And they finally signed him.

But so far, he hasn’t delivered! He’s currently 31st in points with 4 top-20 finishes. The best of which has been a P17 finish at Atlanta and COTA. And already there is a chatter of replacing him. NASCAR analyst Eric Estepp recently said, “Right now, Riley Herbst is 31st in points, while his teammates are fourth and seventh. Look, I know this sounds harsh. I’m not trying to Red Bull Riley Herbst, put Yuki Tsunoda in 6 weeks into the year, but I’ve been honest with y’all. I’ve always thought Corey Heim is the better prospect, dominant in trucks for the past three-plus years, something Riley never was.”

Yes, 23XI Racing has Corey Heim as its developmental driver this season. And if we talk about potential, Heim is miles ahead of Herbst. He has only run two full Truck seasons and has managed to win 13 times, and in both seasons, he made the championship 4. In fact last year, he finished as a runner-up but was a top contender for the title. And forget last year; this season, the Truck Series has only run 5 races so far, and Heim has won 2 of them. It could have been 3, had his Truck not shut down at Homestead Miami on the last lap, giving Kyle Larson the win.

This is one reason why Heim is being considered over Herbst. “Corey clearly has a higher ceiling; he just outran everybody, including Kyle Larson at Homestead. I know Riley brings sponsorship, but if money wasn’t a factor, Riley would have been on the hot seat since Daytona. Hopefully, he learns and makes steady improvements. I know I keep using this stat, but I think it’s a telling one: his average running position at Homestead was 30th. No wrecks, no damage, just 30th place pace,” Estepp added.

But the Truck Series and the Cup Series are two very different beasts. So, there is no guarantee that Heim will show the same prowess here. And it feels too soon to count Herbst out. His stats might not be flashy, but he’s done what Denny Hamlin had expected of him. Hamlin, ahead of the season, had said, “I think there is still going to be a learning curve there, but I just want to see him get better as the year goes on. I know that is a cliché answer, but I believe he is better than people think. I know his team is good. I really want to see him contend inside the top-20 on a regular basis by race 15.” And Herbst did not even need 15 races, he’s already getting top 20 finishes. On the other hand, Heim made three Cup starts last season. None were top 20 finishes.

In fact, Herbst is doing way better than who was being called the 2025 Cup season’s dark horse!

Shane van Gisbergen’s struggles in NASCAR

How 23XI Racing expanded to three cars, so did Justin Mark’s Trackhouse Racing. The three-time super car champion shook the NASCAR world by winning his debut Cup Series race in 2023. Remember the Chicago Street Race? And then he went on to run a full Xfinity Season. Where he managed to get three wins. Another incredible feat. And now, he’s piloting Trackhouse Racing’s third car alongside Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez. But it’s not going as planned.

SVG is currently two spots below Riley Herbst in the points table. With only one top 10 and just one top 20, he’s in the 33rd position! Everyone knew he’d struggle on the ovals, but the Road Course King could only get a P6 at COTA. A race many thought he would win! But like we discussed earlier in Herbst’s case, the Cup Series is a whole different ball game, and the next-gen car is a whole different beast. Look at the recent Homestead Miami race; he finished 32nd!

And the race was an actual struggle for him. These were some of his radio conversations from the race: “The grip is so bad. Unbelievable,” he said after his Lap 121 pit stop on the radio. Or when he said, “Man, I just cannot get into the corner. What am I doing wrong?” And this was non-stop. “I just can’t turn. I keep hurting the tyre. I keep hitting the wall.” During the Stage 2 break, he said: “I’ve never driven a car this tight. It feels so far off. Nothing is working.”

So you get the struggle these new drivers have in the Cup Series. So maybe Herbst just needs some time to shine. What do you think? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.