23XI Racing announced today that veteran crew chief Bootie Barker will call his final race with Bubba Wallace and the No. 23 team at the season finale at Phoenix Raceway. Following the end of the season, Barker will be replaced by Charles Denike, the current crew chief for the No. 19 truck team at McAnally-Hilgemann Racing in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. Barker will remain with 23XI and continue to work with the competition leadership team to prepare cars and strategize for races. His new role will be based at Airspeed.
“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.
“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.”
“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.”
Denike joins 23XI and the No. 23 team after working as a team manager, race engineer, and crew chief in several of NASCAR’s touring series. In 2012, Denike began his racing career with Precision Performance Motorsports as the team manager overseeing their K&N Pro Series East and Xfinity Series teams. While with the team, he oversaw their expansion into the Xfinity Series and served as a crew chief with the K&N team before moving to GMS Racing in 2016. In his first three years at GMS, he worked as a race engineer on the truck and Xfinity programs before moving to the crew chief role in 2020. Denike was crew chief for three trucks at GMS over three seasons, earning two wins, before moving to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing in 2022 to crew chief the No. 19 truck. In 2023, Denike helped earn the company’s first win and first playoff berth, and to date has earned nine wins. The move to 23XI will be Denike’s first experience in the Cup Series.
“I am excited for the 2025 season with the No. 23 team and to work with Bubba and all of 23XI Racing beginning in the offseason,” said Charles Denike, newly named crew chief for the No. 23 team. “Bubba is a proven winner, and I believe we will bring out the best in each other. Thank you to Michael, Denny, and Dave for the opportunity to join the 23XI family. They have built an incredible culture at Airspeed. I am a believer that winning is a process. When you step foot into Airspeed, you see the tools and resources that it takes to win and are surrounded by people with the same vision and mindset. I am looking forward to this next chapter and to be able to contribute to 23XI’s growth and journey to winning championships.”
Before his NASCAR career, Denike served nine years in the US Army as an engineer officer. During his military service, Denike served as an Executive Officer, Plans Officer, Company Commander, and Brigade Engineer on various duty assignments, including underwater searches and inspections, battalion and future operations planning, construction manager, and facilities manager. Denike earned the rank of Major before being honorably discharged from active duty. Denike earned a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Virginia and a Master of Science in engineering management from the Missouri University of Science and Technology.
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