If the NASCAR vs. 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports lawsuit makes it to trial — and at this rate, it seems destined to — the fallout will be substantial, regardless of which side wins.
But one thing that could happen prior to the Dec. 1 trial date is that Tyler Reddick could leave 23XI.
One of the provisions in Reddick’s contract with the team is that it must provide him with a chartered entry. But 23XI no longer has its charters, as this whole lawsuit stemmed from it and FRM not signing the charter agreement. The two teams’ injunction to be granted chartered status for this season was ultimately shut down, which essentially means 23XI is not providing Reddick with a charter this year.
The Associated Press‘ Jenna Fryer had posted on X that Reddick filed a breach of contract notice, but it looks like that post has been deleted. Still, it is referenced in a Jayski post. That post was from Aug. 25, but more recently, on a Sept. 7 episode of the podcast The Teardown, The Athletic‘s Jeff Gluck brought it up again.
“… Even though Tyler Reddick supposedly filed a claim and said, ‘You breached my contract, so I could be a free agent,'” Gluck said. “Because he’s required to be in a chartered car, and he’s not.”
So far, 23XI has not indicated it could part ways with Reddick. But what happens if Reddick’s contract is voided and he becomes a free agent next year?
First off, while 23XI would certainly hate to lose a talent such as Reddick, his leaving because of this whole situation would somewhat help its case. That is something that would clearly be harmful to the team because of the charter situation.
Secondly, it would certainly kick an otherwise slow Silly Season up a notch. Of course, there is the possibility that Reddick and 23XI could work out a new contract after the trial, but let’s look at some other potential scenarios, Fire on Fridays‘ version of the gold codes.
Assuming 23XI is around next year (the only way it wouldn’t be is if it loses the trial), Corey Heim feels like an obvious replacement should Reddick bolt. Heim is ready for the NASCAR Cup Series, but he’s stuck as 23XI’s development driver with no seats open for him to fill. The 19-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series winner is likely to run in multiple Cup races for the team next year and could potentially replace Riley Herbst in 2027. Should Reddick leave, the team would probably slot Heim into the No. 45 and give Herbst a longer leash.
Reddick would then become the hottest free agent in the Cup Series. Remember, Reddick was going to have so many suitors when his deal with Richard Childress Racing expired that 23XI went out and signed him while he still had another year on his deal and bought him out of that deal. Now we’re three years further down the road, and Reddick has five more Cup wins, a regular-season title and a Championship 4 appearance, so teams will want him even more.
The closest comparison I can think of to Reddick becoming available would be Martin Truex Jr. landing on the market after Furniture Row Racing announced it was shutting down. Joe Gibbs Racing gave Daniel Suarez the boot after just two seasons to make room for the Cup champion, and I could see teams doing something similar to get their hands on Reddick.
Keep your eye on the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48. Alex Bowman was just eliminated from the playoffs and has two wins in the last four seasons combined. Injuries and bad breaks have no doubt prevented the 32-year-old from performing better, but still, this is a results-driven business. Rick Hendrick has replaced drivers with better results than Bowman. I mean, he once dropped a young Kyle Busch to get Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Bowman has one more year on his contract, but so did Kasey Kahne when Hendrick dumped him. There was a lot of speculation late last year that Justin Haley would take over the No. 48 ride, but then Bowman won the Chicago Street Race and had a pretty good postseason. Now we’re one year further down the road and the No. 48 team hasn’t had the same results as the other three HMS cars. We’ve seen Hendrick spend the money to land top free agents before in Earnhardt and Kyle Larson, and it could happen again with Reddick.
Reddick was a Chevrolet driver for six years and has already won a NASCAR Xfinity Series championship for Hendrick (he’s a co-owner of JR Motorsports), so a reunion would make a lot of sense.
That is, if Toyota doesn’t have the first right of refusal. The manufacturer could step in and put Reddick with another Toyota team, similar to what it did with Truex. Should Legacy Motor Club’s lawsuit with Rick Ware Racing turn out a certain way, Jimmie Johnson‘s team could have a third charter for 2026. But even if LMC does have a third car next year, that feels like a lateral move for Reddick at best. Legacy has turned up its performance of late, but it still seems a step or two away from competing for wins week in and week out.
The only other Toyota team is JGR, which has a full stable of drivers. The only one that isn’t a championship contender this year is Joe Gibbs’ grandson Ty. It’s possible Ty Gibbs could be sent back down to Xfinity for a season or two like Stewart-Haas Racing (now Haas Factory Team) did with Cole Custer.
But Gibbs almost won his first Cup race and had his best performance last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. He eclipsed 100 Cup starts this season, which is the mark when young drivers typically start winning. It feels like he is really close to breaking out and winning a bunch, and sending him back to Xfinity would stall that out.
Plus, if Reddick became a JGR driver, he’d be a teammate to his current boss, 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin. Wouldn’t that make for some awkward team meetings? I just can’t really see Reddick going to any other Toyota team.
On the Ford side of things, Reddick could reunite with Brad Keselowski at RFK Racing. Reddick previously drove for Brad Keselowski Racing for three years in the Truck Series. Of course, he would have to replace one of the current drivers there, and it could be worth letting go of one of them for a talent like Reddick. However, all three RFK cars missed the playoffs, and the team is winless this season after winning just two races last year. I can’t see Reddick going there for the same reasons he won’t go to Legacy.
That leaves the top Ford team, Team Penske. That team has three drivers all signed through next year at the least. The only one who Penske could replace is the one without a Cup championship, Austin Cindric. Cindric narrowly advanced to the Round of 12, but a deep playoff run could wipe out any doubt he won’t at least finish out his contract with Penske next year.
Still, though, if Reddick is available, Roger Penske could pull the trigger. He’s already let go of one Cindric this year, Austin’s father Tim, the former team president. With that, Austin’s safety blanket is gone. As next year’s Silly Season is expected to be extremely wild with many driver contracts expiring, Cindric may be on the move to another team anyway. So why not rip off the Band-Aid now? He’s won a race in three of his first four Cup seasons, so he would certainly land on his feet. Outside of Reddick staying put and him taking over the No. 48, the No. 2 feels like the third-most-likely option for the California native.
Right now, there is only one guarantee for Reddick: He will be in a ride ride one way or another. He is too good of a driver for someone to not scoop him up. And that’s assuming he even makes it to free agency. 23XI could resolve the breach of contract dispute with him, and they could keep on partnering together for years to come.
Michael Massie joined Frontstretch in 2017 and has served as the Content Director since 2020.
Massie, a Richmond, Va., native, has covered NASCAR, IndyCar, SRX and the CARS Tour. Outside of motorsports, the Virginia Tech grad and Green Bay Packers minority owner can be seen cheering on his beloved Hokies and Packers.