MADISON, Ill. — The Chase presented by Mobil 1 opener at Darlington Raceway provided 23XI Racing with plenty of encouragement as both drivers delivered competitive performances and chipped away at the championship lead. But the road ahead gets tougher at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, a venue that has troubled the organization in recent years.
Tyler Reddick finished fourth at the St. Louis-area oval in 2024, his only result better than 16th in four career starts. Bubba Wallace, meanwhile, shined early in last year’s annual trip to the Midwest, leading 73 laps and winning Stage 2 before dropping to eighth in the box score. That is his only finish above 21st in a quartet of starts.
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“We’ve definitely had our problems when we’ve come here in the past, whether that’s due to mistakes or fighting mechanical issues,” Reddick said on Saturday. “For us, the path that we’ve taken to get to this point at the other short tracks this year has got us feeling pretty good confidence-wise that the mechanical stuff won’t be a problem.”
Improvement, indeed.
In recent races at shorter tracks that demand heavy braking, Wallace has particularly stood out, leading 35 laps at Iowa Speedway, scoring stage points at Richmond Raceway and finishing runner-up to Ryan Blaney at New Hampshire Motor Speedway — the track most comparable to Gateway.
Wallace is approaching Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) similar to how he entered New Hampshire, where he was closing quickly on Blaney at the end of the race.
“We led laps, and it is totally different with the package,” Wallace said of his 2025 Gateway performance. “I’m having a Loudon-esque mindset going into it. We were pretty good there.”
Wallace has seen 23XI Racing make significant strides at the flatter tracks, but he still isn’t fully comfortable with the car’s stability. That has become the next area of focus.
“The feel-wise is what us drivers chase — and I’m still not happy with the feel,” he added. “I’m pleasantly pleased with the pace at the short tracks that we’ve been to. There’s a lot we can take from all these places and see what we can do.”
Reddick recently had finishes of eighth and 11th, respectively, at New Hampshire and Richmond. He wrecked on Lap 4 at Iowa, which resulted in a last-place finish. That’s a shorter track that he wishes he had back to have comparable notes for Gateway.
“Iowa is the one that I wish we could have ran to have a good idea,” Reddick said. “Bubba had a lot of speed all day and it seems like we could have had the same capabilities. Looking at what we’ve learned this year at the short tracks, it’s pointing to we should be fast this weekend.”
The No. 45 bunch led the way for 23XI Racing in practice on Saturday at Gateway, ranking fifth in single-lap speed and seventh on long-run pace. Wallace lacked long-run pace, but qualified seventh, matching his best starting position at a non-drafting oval since Darlington in late March.
Both drivers are aiming to chip away at the championship lead once more at Gateway, which has proven to be a wild-card track in recent years with double-digit cautions in three of the four races at the 1.25-mile layout.
“We already saw it this first weekend out: mistakes, drivers finishing way back, mid-pack in stages,” Reddick said. “I think mistakes are going to continue to happen whether they are with our own control or getting caught by a yellow at times. I think winning is going to move you up in the standings quite a bit, but I’m not ready to say you’re going to have to go on a tear and win multiple races to win The Chase yet. It’s hard to be consistent.”
Reddick enters Gateway fourth on The Chase grid, 24 points below leader Denny Hamlin. Wallace gained four spots to 10th after a strong Darlington showing, tied with Christopher Bell for the biggest upward swing through the opening race of the postseason.