LOUDON, N.H. — 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin says the organization needs to improve its performance after a stretch of races where Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace have each failed to finish in the top 15.
Reddick has finished no better than 27th since the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend, dropping from seventh in the points to 13th.
Wallace has finished no better than 15th over the same five-race stretch, dropping from 15th to 17th in the points.
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Reddick has a victory this season, so he’s secured a playoff spot. Wallace does not have a win this season and trails Michael McDowell by three points for the final cutoff spot entering Sunday’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, USA Network).
“Everyone has got to get better for sure,” Hamlin said Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “I would say when you look at how we break it down, the team certainly needs to take the biggest jump forward on performance. If we do that, I think our drivers are good enough to do it.”
Saturday was a good start for the organization. Reddick qualified sixth and Wallace eighth. This is only the second time since the Coca-Cola 600 both cars have started in the top 10.
Wallace, who finished third in this race last year, said his team spent time this week examining its recent pitfalls.
“This week was a big reflection moment for everybody on the 23 team on how we need to execute better,” he said. “Mistakes at this point in the season, there’s really no excuse for it, whether it’s my fault on track or the crew’s fault in preparation. We just have to be better as a team moving forward to even think about the playoffs.
“Seven races left (until the playoffs). We have the chance to do something great.”
Wallace’s drought comes after a May that saw him score three consecutive top-five finishes — four if including the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro.
Reddick, who won at Circuit of the Americas in March, has had only four top 10s in the 13 races since.
“We’ve just got to clean up the little details,” Reddick said. “That’s been our biggest fight all year. We’re not making the same mistake twice, but certainly we’ve had a lot of mistakes that just keep happening.
“We’ve got to get that out of our system. We’ve got to get back to having some races that go cleanly.”