Denny Hamlin is expecting that his team 23XI Racing to compete for the playoffs spot in its debut season in the Cup Series.
The team driver Bubba Wallace may not have tasted a Cup victory during his time with Richard Petty Motorsports but he will be expected to challenge for wins in his new team.
While it might only be their first season in the Series, expectations are high for the team to deliver from the very beginning. Speaking about such expectations, Hamlin said:
“I (23XI Racing) would like to compete for a Playoffs spot, I think historically you need to be very consistent. You need to be somewhere in the 14-15 average finish to compete. You need to challenge for race wins, I think that that part probably will come.”
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While Hamlin might not have won the championship, he is not new to winning Cup races. He will certainly be looking to pass on his experience with his team’s driver.
“For me, it’s going to be really spending time with Bubba about managing the races and figuring out. ‘Okay, what do I have today?’ I know where my car’s at, now I know where my car is, set my expectations for the race. And how can I barely exceed that expectation.
“So it’s managing the race. Kind of going through with him what my processes to preparing for the weekend. Listen it’s no secret that the older guys, they’ve won the majority of the races for a reason.
“Not winning it because they’re more talented. It’s just your winning is much now on the middle side than your actual talent side. It is trying to get him up to speed and get him wise beyond his actual years of Cup experience.”