NASCAR's Bubba Wallace gets contract extension with 23XI Racing
The multiyear renewal keeps NASCAR's only Black Cup Series driver with the Michael Jordan- and Denny Hamlin-owned team beyond the season in which he missed the playoffs.
23XI Racing signed Bubba Wallace to a multiyear contract extension, the team announced September 18, 2024, according to ESPN's report on the deal. Wallace has driven for the Michael Jordan- and Denny Hamlin-owned organization since its founding in 2021, and the extension keeps him there beyond a 2024 season in which he sat 19th in the standings and did not qualify for the Cup Series playoffs.
"From day one Bubba has been an integral part of 23XI. We're excited to announce that he has signed a multi-year renewal and will continue to play a key role in helping 23XI grow and succeed," the team said in its statement, per ESPN.
What ESPN's report does not specify is the exact length of the extension in years or its financial terms; the reporting characterizes it only as "multiyear." No quotes from Wallace himself were included in the report reviewed here.
What changed: a renewal delayed by bigger league-wide talks
ESPN's coverage placed the extension against the backdrop of NASCAR's new Charter Agreement negotiations, in which 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports were, at the time, the two teams that had not yet signed on. Wallace had said his own contract talks had been shelved while the team worked through that larger negotiation, meaning the September 18 announcement resolved a renewal that had been pending specifically because of the charter dispute rather than any uncertainty about Wallace's role.
The framing: continuity over an incomplete season
From day one Bubba has been an integral part of 23XI. We're excited to announce that he has signed a multi-year renewal and will continue to play a key role in helping 23XI grow and succeed.
The team's own statement emphasized Wallace's tenure since 23XI's 2021 founding rather than his 2024 results. ESPN's report noted Wallace had won two Cup Series races in his career, both with 23XI, though neither came after 2022, and that his first playoff qualification came in 2023, when he finished 10th in the final standings — a season better than the one in which this extension was announced.
What it signals: a team betting on tenure and symbolism, not a walk-year résumé
Extending a driver in a season where he missed the playoffs is a deliberate signal from 23XI's ownership that Wallace's value to the organization is not judged purely on that year's standings. ESPN's report also noted Wallace remains NASCAR's only Black driver competing at the Cup Series level, a fact the outlet included as relevant context for the extension without attributing it as a stated reason from the team.
US In News compiled this archived account from contemporaneous coverage by ESPN. It restores a story originally published on this site in September 2024; figures are as reported at the time.