23XI Racing is replacing veteran crew chief Bootie Baker on the pit box. Baker’s last race with Bubba Wallace is the 2024 Championship race at Phoenix Raceway and he will be replaced by Charles Denike, the crew chief of the No. 19 truck team at McAnally-Hilgemann Racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
“23XI has been good to me, and I hope I have been as good for 23XI,” said Bootie Barker.
“Loyalty is important to me and I will continue to do all I can in my new role to help everyone here succeed. I was fortunate to be a part of 23XI’s inception, and I look forward to being a part of the team’s continued journey.”
After leaving the pit box, Baker will take a role with the competition leadership team to prepare cars and strategy for races.
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“Bootie has meant a lot to me and the No. 23 team,” said Bubba Wallace, driver of the No. 23 Toyota Camry.
“We’ve been together for some special moments, and I’m glad he’s still going to be a part of what we’re building at 23XI. I’m excited to work with Charles and see what we can accomplish together.”
Charles Denike began his racing career in 2012 with Precision Performance Motorsports as the team manager of their K&N Pro Series East and Xfinity Series teams. During his tenure with Precision Performance Motorsports he oversaw its expansion into the NASCAR Xfinity Series and also served as crew chief with the K&N team before leaving to join GMS Racing in 2016. Denike worked as a race engineer on its Truck and Xfinity Series programs before moving over to the crew chief role in 2020. He was the crew chief for three seasons, earning a pair of wins and then proceeded to move to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing in 2022 as crew chief for the No. 19 truck.
“Since joining 23XI, Bootie has provided Bubba and the No. 23 crew with the leadership and confidence they needed to grow into the team they are today,” said Dave Rogers, 23XI Director of Competition.
“As we began to look ahead to next season, we decided that Bootie’s experience would best serve the organization in a different role based at Airspeed. His input will continue to be an asset to our teams. We’re excited to welcome Charles to the organization and look forward to getting started with him at the end of the season. He will be a terrific addition to the No. 23 team and 23XI as we continue to work to be better.”
