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No. 23 in NASCAR through the years
By Zack Albert | Monday, January 18, 2021
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After a two-year hiatus, the No. 23 is making a return to NASCAR's top division with 23XI Racing -- a joint venture between team co-owners Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, with Bubba Wallace stepping in as the driver.
The No. 23 has been around since the Cup Series' first season in 1949. Among the first photos of the No. 23 in competition is this picture of Ohio native Mike Klapak, who drove a Studebaker for car owner Perry Smith at the Daytona Beach-Road Course in 1951.
The No. 23 has been around since the Cup Series' first season in 1949. Among the first photos of the No. 23 in competition is this picture of Ohio native Mike Klapak, who drove a Studebaker for car owner Perry Smith at the Daytona Beach-Road Course in 1951.
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Frank Mundy, left, made Perry Smith's No. 23 Studebaker a winner in 1951, prevailing twice that season -- in Columbia, S.C., and Mobile, Ala. Smith is pictured at right alongside NASCAR Commissioner Erwin "Cannonball" Baker.
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"Iron Mike" Magill stands alongside his Michael Jarema-owned No. 213 Lincoln at Langhorne (Pa.) Speedway. Magill made just five Cup Series starts, but one was in the No. 23 in the 1953 Southern 500. He finished 34th after a severe crash where his No. 23 Lincoln flipped outside of the Darlington track.
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The only other driver to win with No. 23 is Al Keller, here having a smoke and a soda alongside his No. 23 Hudson during his successful 1954 season. It was the first of two Cup Series wins that year for Keller, who first won at Oglethorpe Speedway in Savannah, then gave Jaguar its only Cup Series win at the Linden (N.J.) Airport road course.
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Jack "Ruff House" Choquette was a hard-nosed racer who claimed the 1954 NASCAR National Modified championship. Four of his six Cup Series starts came in a No. 23 Hudson.
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Doug Yates poses at the wheel of his droptop Plymouth owned by Raeford Johnson at Darlington Raceway in 1960.
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Sal Tovella's No. 23 Ford paces Rex White's No. 4 during a Daytona International Speedway qualifying race in 1961.
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Esteemed sports-car racer Vic Elford made just four NASCAR Cup Series starts, but his lone effort in Don Robertson's No. 23 Plymouth gave the Englishman a 10th-place finish in the 1972 Daytona 500.
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Before he became a two-time Daytona 500 winner, Michael Waltrip was a rookie in 1986, driving a colorful No. 23 entry owned by Chuck Rider.
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Texas native Eddie Bierschwale gave the No. 23 a ride on a part-time basis in the 1988-92 seasons. Here, he poses with his No. 23 Oldsmobile on pit road at Daytona International Speedway.
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Alabama native Hut Strickin took on the No. 23 when he joined forces with team owner Travis Carter for the 1994 Cup Series season.
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Jimmy Spencer took over Carter's No. 23 in the 1995 season. The car's look would change over time, but Spencer was a fixture in the No. 23 Ford through the 1999 campaign.
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R.J. Reynolds rebranded its sponsorship of Jimmy Spencer's No. 23 from Camel to Winston late in the 1997 season.
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Hut Stricklin reappeared in the No. 23 in 2001, but with team owner Bill Davis in a Dodge.
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Road-racing ace Tom Hubert gave Bill Davis Racing's No. 23 Dodge a one-off start at Watkins Glen during the 2002 Cup Series season.
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Kenny Wallace was Bill Davis' driver of choice starting late in the 2002 campaign and through the following season.
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Dave Blaney was among the drivers for a partial 2004 season for Bill Davis' No. 23 Dodge.
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Mike Skinner made five starts in the No. 23 entry during the 2005 Cup Series season. Here, he races alongside Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 8 at Daytona International Speedway
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Bill Lester stands beside his No. 23 entry ahead of his NASCAR Cup Series debut at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2006. Lester made just two starts, but became the first Black driver to enter a race in NASCAR's top series since Willy T. Ribbs in 1986.
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Sports-car pro Butch Leitzinger rounds the turns at Sonoma Raceway, making the last of his four Cup Series starts in 2007.
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Terry Labonte drives a No. 23 Ford for car owner Frank Stoddard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2011. The Brickyard start marked the No. 23's first appearance in four years on the Cup Series circuit.
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Scott Riggs made 20 starts in a No. 23 entry for team owner Robert Richardson Sr. in the 2012 Cup Series season.
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Alex Bowman broke into the Cup Series as a rookie with BK Racing's No. 23 Toyota team in 2014. Dr. Pepper was a primary sponsor, but the team spun off to promote the sequel to the movie "Dumb and Dumber."
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Jeb Burton made several starts in BK Racing's No. 23 entry during the 2015 campaign.
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Veteran David Ragan was among the drivers of the No. 23 during BK Racing's time in the Cup Series. He ran a full season with the organization in 2016.
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Joey Gase made his first Daytona 500 start in BK Racing's No. 23 entry in 2017, finishing 23rd.
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Gray Gaulding made several starts in the No. 23 in 2017. Here he brings the BK Racing entry to pit road at Martinsville Speedway.
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NASCAR Euro Series standout Alon Day made his Cup Series debut at Sonoma Raceway in 2017, wheeling BK Racing's No. 23 Toyota.
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Corey LaJoie found a home for 16 Cup Series races in 2017 with BK Racing's No. 23.
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Spencer Gallagher made his only NASCAR Cup Series start in 2018, driving the No. 23 Toyota to 35th place at Watkins Glen International.
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JJ Yeley rounded out the 2018 season for the No. 23 entry, driving for team owner Bob Jenkins, whose Front Row Motorsports operation bought out the assets of BK Racing in August of that year. It's the last time the No. 23 has been on the track in the Cup Series, a stat that will change with the debut of 23XI Racing in 2021.
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