Budding NASCAR powerhouse team owned by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan just needs short track magic

Denny Hamlin likes comparing his lightning-fast assembly of 23XI Racing to solving a Rubik’s Cube.

He knows there’s one critical piece left to solving the championship puzzle for the budding NASCAR powerhouse that he’s built with NBA great Michael Jordan.

“It’s the short tracks,” Hamlin said Sunday after Tyler Reddick won at Darlington Raceway for 23XI’s fourth win through six of 36 races this year (already a season-best victory total for a team that started in 2021). “The short tracks (are) the only place where 23XI as a whole could get a little bit better. I know they’re all working on that, but I don’t know. We just don’t have any weaknesses right now.”

In his seventh Cup season, the 30-year-old Reddick has emerged as the runaway points leader in the Cup Series. He has a 95-point lead on second place in the regular-season championship standings, and 23XI teammate Bubba Wallace is ranked third. Reddick’s margin is larger than the points total for any driver outside the top 25 in the 2026 standings.

The No. 45 Toyota driver has won at a superspeedway, a road course and now at Darlington, considered the toughest track on the circuit.

But his status as a top-flight championship contender would be confirmed if he can excel this weekend at Martinsville Speedway, the first of the three short tracks on the schedule where 23XI has lagged the most.

Reddick’s 12 career victories have occurred at 11 tracks, but missing from that list are Bristol Motor Speedway, Richmond Raceway and Martinsville, where he has only two top-10 finishes in 12 starts.

“If I can win there, oh my gosh, the world is going to end,” he joked about Sunday's 500-lap race at the 0.526-mile oval in southwest Virginia.

Reddick has finished outside the top 15 eight times at Martinsville. His worst finish was a 35th in 2022 when his head smacked the cockpit padding during a crash, and he pulled into the garage for evaluation at the care center.

Reddick expects adversity at Martinsville, but his team has shown strength in overcoming trouble. In three of his four victories, he rebounded from being caught in crashes (Daytona, Atlanta) and from a malfunctioning alternator (Darlington).

“For us to be put through these things that kept us from winning a year ago to fight through these things and then still win is very remarkable,” Reddick said. “It’s very fulfilling. It’s the stuff that you just got to kind of take a step back and say, ‘Wow, that was incredible.’ I’m definitely in that place right now.”

He easily had the fastest car Sunday with new regulations of 12% more horsepower and 25% less downforce. The combination left many stars befuddled (three-time Cup champion Joey Logano finished three laps down in 33rd).

Yet Reddick shied away from labeling his team as the best in Cup.

“I’ll let you guys figure that part out,” he said. “We’ll just keep working hard and keep winning races. I don’t need to say anything about it.”

But Hamlin, who made many of the key personnel decisions with Jordan providing the multimillion-dollar bankroll, is ready to embrace the mantle of virtually being on par with Hendrick Motorsports, Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing — the three teams that have combined to win 18 of the past 21 championships.

“You just keep putting really good people together, and you’re going to have those type of results,” Hamlin said. “This was the most impressive weekend I’ve seen from 23XI, because everyone came in here with so many unknowns.

“We certainly would say right now that there’s not a whole lot more to do to be at that level. They’re there right now.”

After leading a race-high 142 laps at Darlington, Brad Keselowski had to settle for his sixth runner-up finish since his most recent win, 65 races ago at Darlington in May 2024. But the team owner of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing took pride in running 1-2-3 at one point with teammates Chris Buescher (ninth) and Ryan Preece (13th). Their Fords all were painted in honor of late Roush driver Greg Biffle, a two-time Darlington winner who liked hanging his car out and scraping the wall at the 1.366-mile oval.

“We’re doing the things we need to do and making the most of the days we have,” Keselowski said. “It’s really cool to have a great group of cars running up front. I put a nice right-side stripe on the car. I think that would make Greg proud. If you know Greg, you’ll understand that one.”

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Tyler Reddick, center, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, March 22, 2026, in Darlington, S.C.(AP Photo/Matt Kelley)

Tyler Reddick stands on top of his car and celebrates with his team after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, March 22, 2026, in Darlington, S.C.(AP Photo/Matt Kelley)

Tyler Reddick, center right, celebrates with his team in Victory Lane after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, March 22, 2026, in Darlington, S.C.(AP Photo/Matt Kelley)

ROME (AP) — Italian voters on Monday rejected a judicial reform backed by conservative Premier Giorgia Meloni, delivering a stinging setback to the right-wing government one year ahead of national elections.

“Italian citizens have decided and we respect their decision as always,” Meloni said in a video posted on Instagram. She pledged, as anticipated, to complete her mandate, which runs into 2027.

“We will move forward as we always have: with responsibility, determination, and above all, with respect for Italy and its people,” Meloni said, admitting some “regret for a missed opportunity to modernize Italy.”

The “No” camp won almost 54% of the vote against the government‑backed “Yes” campaign, which secured about 46%, according to final results released by the Interior Ministry.

Turnout over the two‑day ballot, which began Sunday, was considerably higher than expected at almost 59% following a polarizing campaign. It energized the center‑left opposition, which framed the reform as a threat to judicial independence, while simultaneously exposing divisions within Meloni’s right‑wing coalition.

The proposed judicial reform had been billed by Meloni’s coalition as a key step toward streamlining Italy’s judicial system — long criticized as slow, bureaucratic, and vulnerable to political influence.

But critics argued that the measures risked concentrating too much power in the executive branch. Opposition parties, civil society groups and legal associations mounted a unified front, warning that the reform could undermine institutional checks and balances.

With political tensions already running high, public debate intensified in the final weeks before the vote, turning it into a de facto confidence test on Meloni’s leadership itself.

The defeat, especially after a campaign so closely tied to her personal leadership, raises questions about the stability and cohesion of Meloni's governing coalition.

The stakes extend beyond Italy’s borders. The Italian premier faces growing scrutiny over her controversial alignment with U.S. President Donald Trump and his increasingly unpopular war on Iran.

“Italy has defied its reputation for government instability in recent years,” said Jess Middleton, senior Europe analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft. “This defeat punctures Meloni’s image of strength, weakening her status as a pillar of domestic stability and as a consistent player in an increasingly volatile European political landscape.”

Analysts also noted that the referendum win provides a major boost to the center-left opposition, with frustrations around the government’s performance on the economy and the war in the Middle East coming into focus throughout the campaign.

“The key question now is whether these disparate opposition forces can maintain some cohesion and present themselves as a credible alternative ahead of next year’s vote,” Middleton said.

Elly Schlein, leader of the center-left Democratic Party, hailed the referendum result and said opposition forces would remain united.

“We'll continue to work together and we'll build a real alternative to this government,” she said at a news conference celebrating the “No” victory.

Ballots are counted at a polling station at the end of the vote for a referendum on judicial reform in Rome, Monday, March 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Ballots are counted at a polling station at the end of the vote for a referendum on judicial reform in Rome, Monday, March 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Votes are being counted for the referendum on judicial reform at a polling station in Milan, Italy, Monday, March 23, 2026 (Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP)

Votes are being counted for the referendum on judicial reform at a polling station in Milan, Italy, Monday, March 23, 2026 (Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP)

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni casts her ballot in a referendum on judicial reform, in Rome, Monday, March 23, 2026. (Valentina Stefanelli/LaPresse via AP)