NASCAR insider sheds new light into potential third driver for 23XI Racing in 2025

23XI Racing was one of two Cup Series teams not to sign NASCAR‘s final charter offer earlier this month, however, all signs point to the upstart team expanding to three full-time charters in 2025.

Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports provided an update Tuesday on who will possibly join 23XI in a full-time capacity in a charter likely acquired from Stewart-Haas Racing. Pockrass mentioned Riley Herbst, who has strong sponsorship with Monster Energy. Monster already has a relationship with 23XI, and Pockrass believes that marriage makes the most sense. Pockrass added that 23XI has been hiring employees for a third car next year despite the uncertainty with the charter situation.

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“With the team already having a Monster Energy relationship, adding Riley Herbst and his Monster deal would make sense. But Herbst has indicated his future is still not set,” Pockrass wrote. “Corey Heim is the team’s driver of the future. But he might be a year or two away from being fully Cup ready. Despite the charter drama, 23XI Racing has been hiring employees to fill a third car for next year.”

Herbst currently competes full-time in the Xfinity Series for SHR. The 25-year-old took the checkered flag at Indianapolis in July and is guaranteed a spot in the playoffs which begin at Kansas on Saturday, Sept. 28. Herbst has eight Cup Series starts under his belt, tallying two top 10s.

23XI has continued to improve year by year under the leadership of Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin. Both Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace made the playoffs last year. While Wallace failed to get there this year, Reddick took home the regular season championship.

23XI Racing eying third full-time Cup Series charter?

How the charter drama affects 23XI’s plans to expand remains to be seen. In its statement explaining its decision not to sign, 23XI cited not having the opportunity to “fairly bargain for a new charter contract.” Teams were given just six hours to sign the contract ahead of the playoff opener at Atlanta.

Hamlin has been open about his frustration with how negotiations have gone over the last two years and back in June, said he would not expand unless the charter situation improved.

“23XI is interested in getting a charter deal done,” Hamlin said. “We don’t — right now, on Jan. 1, 2025, we don’t even have a charter. So, you can’t buy or sell something that doesn’t exist in our eyes. We have two charters till the end of this year. And until we get a charter agreement done, that’s all we have. I mean, I didn’t build that facility to stay a two-car team, but it always has to make financial sense. I’m not going to put myself in a position to where I’m having to shell out millions and millions of dollars every year just to keep this thing going. I will not do that personally.

“So, it has to make financial sense. And the charter agreement needs to be better than it is certainly before I invest any more money in it.”