Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan-owned 23XI Racing have big plans for their second season. With a looming announcement of a new charter for Kurt Busch’s car, 23XI Racing are also making moves for pit crews. They recently signed Dave Rogers as the performance director.
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Rogers previously worked as a crew chief to Daniel Hemric at Joe Gibbs Racing. But despite Hemric winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series title in Phoenix, he packed his bags and recently revealed the reason for moving to 23XI.
“We knew that the JGR program was gonna be reduced from four teams to three teams, that left an odd man out,” Rogers said.
“I knew for sure, going into Phoenix, I would not be returning to JGR Xfinity, but I didn’t know exactly where I’d land and this deal got finalized not too long ago.”
He revealed how he already was in touch with 23XI for a vacancy. And then something came up, something that was really ‘appealing’.
“It just seemed like a great opportunity for where I am in my career.”
ICYMI: Dave Rogers shared that @JoeGibbsRacing's decision to scale down its @NASCAR_Xfinity program played a role in him taking on his new role at @23XIRacing. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/pprQ3T8CRt
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) November 16, 2021
One can understand why an uncertain future at JGR Racing and an opportunity from a team like 23XI are reasons enough for Rogers to change organisations.
Especially when the new one is building a championship-winning team.
Dave Rogers isn’t the only addition to 23XI Racing
Along with Dave Rogers as performance director, 23XI have also signed Billy Scott as the crew chief for Kurt Busch in 2022.
Scott and Busch will be reunited at 23XI. In fact, Scott’s most successful season came up with Busch, at Stewart-Haas Racing when Busch took one win and 22 Top 10 finishes, a career-best.
USA Today via Reuters
Apr 25, 2021; Talladega, Alabama, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Bubba Wallace (23) leads during the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
23XI also announced Robert Barker will keep his spot as the crew chief for Bubba Wallace for 2022.
It seems like everything is falling in its right place for the 23XI team. They’ve signed a race-winner in Kurt Busch, retained their proven crew chief in Barker, signed two very capable personalities of inspiring race wins in Billy Scott and Dave Rogers as a second crew chief and performance director respectively.
The only missing piece now is a new charter.
Otherwise, 23XI Racing are all but set to compete on top of the field in 2022, just like their owners and their crew.
Also Read: 23XI Racing Still Pursuing 2nd Charter After Front Row Setback in Big Boost to Wallace & Busch
