23XI Racing, co-owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, will add a third full-time car next year. Alongside the No. 23 of Bubba Wallace and the No. 45 of Tyler Reddick, they will also field the No. 35 Toyota Camry with Riley Herbst behind the wheel.
Herbst, 25, brings Monster Energy with him as a primary sponsor, which already backs 23XI’s Tyler Reddick in the Cup Series, as well as Joe Gibbs Racing driver Ty Gibbs. Herbst has spent the past five seasons running every NASCAR Xfinity race with 2024 as his best showing yet with two race wins before ending the season seventh in the championship standings. He also ended the year by capturing his third career victory in the title-decider after a last-lap pass on newly crowned Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier.
Herbst also has eight starts in the Cup Series over the past two years, which includes a top-ten on debut in the 2023 Daytona 500. He bettered that result later that same year when he finished ninth at Talladega. Davin Restivo, who worked with Herbst in the Xfinity Series, will serve as the crew chief on the No. 35 car.
Riley Herbst, Rick Ware Racing, Monster Energy Zero Sugar Ford Mustang, Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, FedEx Rewards Toyota Camry and Martin Truex Jr, Joe Gibbs Racing, Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry
Photo by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images
23XI has run three cars before, but only in a limited capacity. They utilized the No. 67 and later the No. 50 on a part-time basis and featured some notable drivers including Juan Pablo Montoya, Kamui Kobayashi, and Travis Pastrana.
23XI’s original plan was to purchase a charter from the now defunct Stewart-Haas Racing but due to the legal dispute with NASCAR over the 2025 Charter Agreement, it’s possible they will have to run all three as ‘open’ entries that are not locked in to any race. A judge denied their request for a preliminary injunction to keep their charters while the antitrust lawsuit takes place, but the decision is now facing an appeal.
They are the third two-car operation to announce a planned expansion ahead of the 2025 season and the second this week, joining RFK Racing which will add the No. 60 car with Ryan Preece and Trackhouse Racing which will add the No. 88 with Shane van Gisbergen.