Denny Hamlin showed up at Pocono Raceway like a man on a mission. First, he snatched the pole with a blistering lap, setting the pace early, and looking poised to secure his record-extending eighth win at “The Tricky Triangle.” But when the checkered flag waved, he found himself settling for second place behind Chase Briscoe in a nail-biting finish. As a driver, it was heartbreakingly close. But as a team owner? Well, the heartbreak wasn’t just close, it was brutal.While Hamlin battled at the front, his Michael Jordan co-owned 23XI Racing stable was dealing with a mess that no one saw coming. From promising pace to sudden chaos, the day spiraled fast for his Toyota trio. And after the race, Hamlin didn’t hold back on what’s really going wrong behind the scenes.Denny Hamlin calls out 23XI setup failures after Pocono disasterAs co-owner of 23XI Racing, Hamlin had a front-row seat to one of the team’s most chaotic weekends yet. While he led laps in his Joe Gibbs Racing #11 and came within 0.6 seconds of his eighth Pocono win, the three 23XI cars unraveled in a brake-failure fiasco that destroyed two race cars and nearly took out a third!“All three had brake issues,” Denny Hamlin admitted bluntly on his Actions Detrimental podcast. “Yeah, I don’t know what’s going on over there. But, typically when JGR [Joe Gibbs Racing] doesn’t have brake issues, 23XI does, and I don’t know why… We gotta figure that out… Man, it is painful right now.” On Lap 41, Riley Herbst’s #54 slammed into the wall after what was initially believed to be a flat tire, but later confirmed to be a brake failure. “I’ve grown up watching these races at Pocono and seeing what happened to me happen to lot of other guys. It was a scary feeling for sure,” Herbst said, visibly shaken from the experience.Then, just 13 laps later, Bubba Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota suffered an even more violent brake rotor explosion. Wallace had no warning. “By the time I was ready to touch the pedal, it just went to the floor and the brakes exploded,” Wallace explained. The DNF now drags Wallace dangerously close to the playoff cut line, just 29 points clear. Tyler Reddick, the third 23XI driver, was the only one of the 23XI drivers to finish the race. The No. 45 team pulled his car behind the wall mid-race for precautionary brake checks. He, however, limped home in 32nd.Besides Toyota, even Spire Motorsports’ Michael McDowell suffered a brake failure in his #71 Chevrolet on Lap 73. However, McDowell points to the Tricky Triangle’s tight braking zones, which impacted the temperature of the brakes, leading to the brake failure. McDowell said, “Those cycles can hurt the rotors, and I think that’s what we saw today (Sunday).” And McDowell suffered the same fate as Wallace and ended up with a 35th-place DNF. However, one Spire Motorsports Chevrolet suffering is understandable, but all three 23XI cars? That’s rare and concerning. So what went wrong?According to Denny Hamlin, the culprit isn’t random parts failure. Rather, it’s the execution. “It’s setup. You put it together, you decide how much cooling you have, you decide the parts and pieces,” he explained. “It’s a setup, quote unquote, thing.” Well, while setup might be the culprit, aside from brake issues, 23XI has struggled a lot this season.Last year at this time, Tyler Reddick was gunning for a regular-season championship, one that he eventually won. The #45 got 21 top-10 finishes and 3 wins in 2024, and a maiden Championship 4 berth to boot. However, this season has been nothing but misery for Reddick. While he has shown flashes of speed and led a few laps, he has consistently overdriven his car and faced pit road penalties at crucial junctures, which have ruined his runs, leading to just 5 top-10s and 94 laps led thus far.Bubba Wallace’s season has been a true mixed bag. From impressive finishes like 3rd at Homestead and Martinsville in consecutive weeks to 33rd at Kansas and Michigan in consecutive weeks, Wallace’s consistency has left a lot to be desired as he sits on the edge of the playoff bubble. Meanwhile, rookie Riley Herbst is still coming to grips with the rigors of Cup Series racing and has time to turn this around. But as we head to Echo Park Speedway next week, 23XI Racing needs to get back to the drawing board, big time.23XI needs a turnaround at AtlantaAfter a brutal brake meltdown at Pocono, 23XI Racing heads into the Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway facing pressure to rebound. Atlanta, reconfigured in 2022 with 28° banking and narrower lanes, demands excellent brake and tire management. These are strengths that 23XI needs to reclaim, but Atlanta has been a mixed bag for the team.Bubba Wallace delivered a solid performance in the spring, finishing ninth. This was his third top-10 in the last four Atlanta races and a strong indication of his comfort on the track. Overall, Wallace’s average finish at Atlanta sits around 15th. But his recent form suggests he’s capable of running up front if the equipment holds together. Tyler Reddick, meanwhile, finished 19th at Atlanta earlier this year, a disappointing result for a driver who has shown flashes of brilliance but has yet to consistently convert at this track. His Atlanta average? Just under 20th, reflecting the challenges he’s faced in finding speed and staying out of trouble.Rookie Riley Herbst, in his first Atlanta Cup start, finished 17th, a respectable debut that hints at untapped potential. As 23XI prepares for the Quaker State 400, the team’s focus is on reliability and execution. With the playoffs looming, Wallace and Reddick need strong races to solidify their positions. Atlanta’s unique layout and high stakes make it the perfect stage for 23XI to prove they can overcome adversity and compete at the sport’s highest level. Do you think 23XI Racing can rebound after a disastrous run at Pocono? Let us know in the comments!The post “It’s Painful”- Denny Hamlin Breaks Silence on 23XI’s Pocono Disasterclass appeared first on EssentiallySports.