23XI Racing introduced a third, part-time entry at the 2023 Daytona 500 with Travis Pastrana behind the wheel. With the No. 67 car being unchartered, Pastrana had to make the field and did just that on Wednesday night with an electric qualifying lap.
Pastrana’s momentum carried over to the Great American Race as he finished in 11th place as the highest-finishing 23XI Racing car and the second-highest Toyota entry behind Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell.
The 39-year-old driver was an amazing presence for NASCAR’s biggest race and it has created questions. Will Pastrana be back with 23XI Racing for more events during the 2023 NASCAR season?
Related: Denny Hamlin rumored to drive one season with 23XI Racing before retirement
23XI Racing team owner Denny Hamlin talks about Travis Pastrana
Pastrana joining NASCAR for its biggest race of the 2023 season was an overwhelming success. He provided fun and electric interviews but when it came down to business, he took it seriously behind the wheel.
This has left many NASCAR fans desiring more races from Pastrana in the future. 23XI Racing team owner Denny Hamlin talked about Pastrana’s future with the organization on his podcast, Actions Detrimental, this week.
“(Travis Pastrana) doesn’t have any more races. I see a lot of people asking questions about Travis. He was the highest-finishing (23XI Racing) car, second-highest finisher for Toyota. He did great. He finished all the laps and that’s all we could really ask of him and he had a blast. That’s a checked box for him and I’m so happy for him. He was a great guy to work with. He worked really hard. I can’t emphasize enough like how serious he took this…so, love to have Travis back sometime.”
Denny Hamlin on whether Travis Pastrana will be back with 23XI Racing
Unfortunately, Pastrana does not have any more races with 23XI Racing at this point. There’s always an opportunity to add more events, such as Bristol Dirt, in the coming days, weeks, and months.
23XI Racing will have the third, part-time car running in events this season. In fact, the team has been preparing it for Kurt Busch if he were to be cleared to compete in NASCAR. Obviously, Busch would only compete in select events under this scenario.
As a whole, NASCAR is better off with Pastrana having fun in the sport. If Pastrana wants a seat for a few races each season, it seems pretty likely that 23XI Racing and anyone else would not complain.