NASCAR: 5 drivers who could join Joe Gibbs Racing in 2023
By Asher Fair
![Trevor Bayne, Joe Gibbs Racing, NASCAR (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images) Trevor Bayne, Joe Gibbs Racing, NASCAR (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/248334b2783c5f7b38caee7bda2dcc0cac5864a9c8e598cb4e8f64505dbe81ea.jpg)
Drivers who could join Joe Gibbs Racing: No. 5 – Tyler Reddick
Tyler Reddick wasn’t initially set to join 23XI Racing for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season. After having an option picked up in his contract to keep him with Richard Childress Racing through 2023, he announced that he would be joining 23XI Racing and Toyota in 2024.
However, Kurt Busch suffered a head injury less than a month later in a qualifying crash at Pocono Raceway, casting doubt on his future in the Cup Series. He didn’t make the decision right away, but he ultimately decided not to return as a full-time driver in 2023.
Busch, who had been under contract through the 2023 season, did not compete in any of the 16 races which were contested after his injury to conclude the 2022 season.
Even before Busch made his decision, many expected Reddick to leave Richard Childress Racing a year early, given some of things that were said after his decision. That belief was held even after Richard Childress insisted that Reddick would be stayed.
Indeed, that’s how it ultimately played out.
Reddick is set to join 23XI Racing as the new driver of the No. 45 Toyota in 2023, making him an ideal candidate to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing’s Xfinity Series team here and there throughout the season.
Reddick is no stranger to competing in select Xfinity Series races as a Cup Series driver, making seven starts with three teams (RSS Racing with Reaume Brothers Racing, Our Motorsports, and Jordan Anderson Racing) during the 2021 season, and then five more starts with Big Machine Racing in 2022, delivering the team their first ever victory at Texas Motor Speedway.
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The two-time Xfinity Series champion is primed to be the next “Kyle Busch” in terms of competing in as many Xfinity Series races as he can.