Q: The creation of the 23XI team has been a topic of much conversation in the NASCAR community. In the way many of the variables fell into place to create the new team, you’ve made mention in the racing media that it’s all been almost serendipitous…

DW: Yeah, it really is. One of the things that we came to realize is that with this new car and with the changing model of competition, we needed another partner. I love telling the story of Denny calling me kind of out of the blue. He wanted to kind of philosophize about his career moving forward. This was during the pandemic and we were going to the racetrack and Denny realized that as much as he loved golf, he needed a challenge, right? And he didn’t know whether it was building up his father’s trailer hitch business or doing something in the sport of NASCAR. He has that conversation a few weeks later with Michael Jordan and the next thing you know he’s calling me and he’s like, “Dave, what do you think?”

What’s been so cool about it is from the very first day, Denny has said, “Listen, I’m a driver. I don’t know what I’m doing. I need all the help I can get.” He’s been just wide-open. And actually, he doesn’t have the bad habits of a team owner yet because he hasn’t been one. It’s been really fun working with him shoulder to shoulder to build up this organization and to put the pieces in place. And we had calls where we would say, “OK, who is on your list of drivers?” And we’d compare notes and the guy at the top of both lists was Kurt Busch.

Q: Having Kurt Busch there and in on the shop ground floor has to be very confidence-inspiring for you and the entire program.

Yeah, it’s very cool. And as a fine point, Kurt actually has raced for Toyota. Back in 2012 Kurt ran a handful of Xfinity races for his brother and he actually won at Richmond in 2012. Certainly, though, on the Cup side this will be his first opportunity. In a simple, prideful manner, Kurt can become only the second driver in history to win at the Cup level with four different manufacturers. The only guy right now is Kasey Kahne. I think that’s cool.

The reason why Denny and I had Kurt at the top of our list, it was as much of what we believed what he could contribute outside of the race car. Inside that race car? That’s a no-brainer. You just look at the numbers. Kurt makes the playoffs every year. Kurt wins a race every year. Kurt is just like money. But it is outside of the race car and it is giving that young organization a real bench mark because while Bubba Wallace is talented, he’s still finding his way. What Kurt is doing is that he’s taking a chance on us by joining this very young organization. We’re going to know very quickly just how good the equipment is at 23XI because with Kurt, there is no guessing. It’s that index. It’s him helping Bubba. It’s him getting involved in TRD’s young driver development program, which he’s very excited about. All of those things add up to both of us smiling and looking forward to the next couple of years.

Q: Have you spoken much with Michael Jordan and Joe Gibbs?

DW: Yeah, so I’ve gotten to spend a little time with Michael and the very first impression that blew me away was that he’s a NASCAR fan and grew up with his dad taking him to the races. Oh my gosh, he is a NASCAR fan. He pauses his golf game to go in the clubhouse to make sure he’s tuned-in on everything in the sport. And this is well before 23XI came to be, so it was so cool and it is so cool to see how passionate he is abut all of it. He busts balls with the best of them and he has fun and you can tell and you love that.

Coach Gibbs has been terrific. Honestly, at the outset, there is perhaps a natural anxiety because Denny has a day job. He has responsibilities to Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing and FedEx and what all of us have come to appreciate and respect is Denny’s ability to compartmentalize. And as counterintuitive as it sounds, I think he’s better in the driver’s seat right now, or as good as he’s ever been. That’s just an interesting point. That’s paying respect to him and his ability to focus depending on what the task is at hand. That also speaks to him acknowledging, “Hey, my name is on the sign out front as an owner.” He’s going to surround himself with the right people that can run that team. I respect the way he has handled this and certainly Joe has been very supportive, as well.

Q: I recently spoke with Bubba Wallace and he was very enthused about Kurt joining him in the team. Bubba spoke about how much both he and Denny can help him and his progression in the team and in the sport.

DW: Absolutely. That’s what you would want to see from a driver in his position. As opposed to, you could see somebody who maybe gets a little bit insecure or defensive. That’s not Bubba. He’s racing the pressure because this is going to put some pressure on him, without a doubt. He knows that with Kurt and with Denny he’ll well and truly be able to see and understand where the bar is and what he’s got to do to reach that bar.

Q: NASCAR is poised to enter a very brave new era. It’s easy to see that Toyota and TRD are all systems go with everything. Exciting times, eh?

DW: It’s so exciting. Sometimes it’s terrifying because I can say very confidently that year over year our sport is going to see more change than it has its entire 60-plus-year history and that takes a lot of courage by the sanctioning body, by Jim France sand the France family. It takes a lot of commitment by all those stakeholders — the teams, the manufacturers, the networks, the track owners because we all stand to reap the fruits of this. Directionally, I have no doubt this is correct and we’re going to be more front and center in pop culture. The pressure is immense on all of us right now. It comes back to my first comment because to be perfectly candid, there is no Plan B. We have to get this car right and we cannot take for granted how big of a job that is. In reality, and I use the expression sometimes, we’re going to be working on the airplane as it’s flying. That’s what we’re signing up for, but it is the right direction and we’re proud and grateful to be in this great sport.