‘Didn’t even know anything went on’: NASCAR drivers keep focus amid lawsuit

CONCORD

The mood remains unchanged inside 23XI Racing, as competitors of the NASCAR team co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin are committed to racing for Cup Series championships.

But the Dec. 1 trial looms beyond the season’s final five races, starting with Sunday’s Charlotte Roval.

Several of NASCAR’s most influential leaders addressed the ongoing lawsuit between the sanctioning body and plaintiffs 23XI and Front Row Motorsports, releasing statements Friday night urging for resolution to keep its current charter system in place. 23XI’s key figures say these developments haven’t affected the day-to-day morale at Airspeed.

“Nothing surprised me,” Hamlin said Saturday. “I didn’t think it was super helpful, for them. I thought it was truthfully more helpful for us than it was for them. Obviously, as they said, they were asked to do it.”

Drivers set for competition amid lawsuit

Bubba Wallace is focused on what he can control.

Both 23XI playoff drivers — Tyler Reddick won the pole — find themselves below the elimination line entering Sunday. They both said Saturday that they haven’t been paying close attention to the latest in the lawsuit amid their own postseason runs.

While Dec. 1 looms, drivers are more focused on their upcoming postseason races. Wallace added the shop’s mood would be “pretty down” if the trial were Sunday, and they’re looking toward the immediate future.

”It’s our livelihoods to give it everything we’ve got for the race that’s ahead of us,” Wallace said. “That sounds like a cliché answer, but I could care less. I’ve got five races left to go out and fight for a championship, and I set that tone from the beginning of the year: We’ve gotta work our tails off to make it count each and every week.

“With everything going on in the background … I stay focused on the things I can control. I didn’t even know anything went on (Friday) night.”

Busch: More than ‘one person to turn the whole ship around’

There will be a new crew chief atop Kyle Busch’s pit box Sunday.

Andy Street, the Kernersville native and UNC Charlotte alum who’s a longtime RCR crew chief in the Xfinity Series, is Busch’s crew chief for the remainder of the season. Randall Burnett is transitioning to Trackhouse Racing, where he’ll be paired with Charlotte born-and-bred phenom Connor Zilisch for his Cup debut.

Regardless which direction RCR goes, it’ll take more than one hire to revive the two-time champion’s dominance.

“It’s not just going to be a crew chief who comes in and fixes the whole program,” Busch said. “I’m going to put that out there. We’ve got to have, from top to bottom, inside and out, an opportunity of being able to orchestrate the proper personnel to go out there and execute. You know, it takes the head coach, offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach, running backs coach, wide receivers coach to win and compete for championships. We’ve got to get to that level.

“Joe Gibbs says: ‘You win with people.’ It’s not just going to take one person to turn the whole ship around. You’re trying to move a cruise liner, and you need a lot of support to be able to do that.”

Zilisch wins Xfinity Series race in overtime at Charlotte Roval

The Charlottean scored a big win at his home track Saturday.

Zilisch led 61 of 68 laps and held off the pack in overtime after starting the Xfinity Series race at the Roval from the pole.

It marks the 10th victory of the season for Zilisch — one day after Corey Heim recorded his 10th Truck Series win — and brings the Trackhouse Racing prospect closer to Kyle Busch’s series record of 13 wins set in 2010.

“It’s awesome,” Zilisch said. “The Roval is a track I’ve raced once before, a couple of years ago, and it’s just a very unique track. To get our 10th win here is just awesome for me, everybody at JR Motorsports — and it’s extra special to win here at home.”

Harrison Burton stalled in Turn 4 on Lap 14 and pulled off the track as he slowed down, and it prompted the first natural caution.

After Zilisch won the opening stage, Burton had returned to the race, and Josh Williams brought out another caution.

Jesse Love earned the Stage 2 win after Zilisch pitted late.

Zilisch found himself within three laps of victory when debris from Sage Karam’s dropped right front tire brought out a late caution that set up overtime.

The race ended under caution due to oil on the track. Concord native Austin Green, who won the spring ARCA race at Charlotte, finished in second place, and Sammy Smith earned the final playoff spot by one point with a third-place finish.

Xfinity Series results from Charlotte

Position	Driver	Car No.
1	Connor Zilisch	88
2	Austin Green	87
3	Sammy Smith	8
4	Kaz Grala	24
5	Connor Mosack	9
6	Jeb Burton	27
7	William Sawalich	18
8	Justin Allgaier	7
9	Nick Sanchez	48
10	Christian Eckes	16
11	Sheldon Creed	00
12	Jesse Love	2
13	Taylor Gray	54
14	Aric Almirola	19
15	Carson Kvapil	1
16	Parker Retzlaff	4
17	Daniel Hemric	11
18	Brandon Jones	20
19	Sam Mayer	41

20	Ryan Sieg	39
21	Josh Bilicki	91
22	Corey Day	17
23	Anthony Alfredo	42
24	Ryan Ellis	71
25	Sage Karam	53
26	Leland Honeyman	92
27	Jeremy Clements	51
28	Austin Hill	21
29	Blaine Perkins	31
30	Alex Labbe	07
31	Brennan Poole	44
32	Matt DiBenedetto	99
33	Kyle Sieg	28
34	Harrison Burton	25
35	Dean Thompson	26
36	Daniel Dye	10
37	Josh Williams	45
38	Preston Pardus	50