Michael Jordan co-owns 23XI Racing, a NASCAR team that won the Daytona 500.
Jordan and co-owner Denny Hamlin challenged NASCAR's business model, leading to reforms.
23XI Racing's Daytona 500 win marks a significant achievement for Jordan's off-court ventures.
Source: Chris Graythen / Getty
For many, Michael Jordan is still considered to be the greatest basketball player of all time, and after being retired for over 20 years he is still adding accolades to his resume off the court. MJ is now a Daytona 500 winner!
Michael partnered up with OG NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin to start their own racing team back in 2020. The two are long time friends whose relationship bloomed years prior to this partnership. 23XI Racing represents Jordan’s jersey number and the Roman numerals for Hamlin’s No. 11 car.
“Eleven years ago, I met Michael Jordan at a then-Charlotte Bobcats game and we became fast friends,” Hamlin stated. “Not long after, I joined Jordan Brand as their first NASCAR athlete. Our friendship has grown over the years and now we are ready to take it to the next level.
MJ and Hamlin debuted 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series’ 2021 Daytona 500 with Toyota engines in its cars. They also had the only Top Black NASCAR driver at the time, Bubba Wallace, as the face of their team.
“Deciding on the driver was easy — it had to be Bubba Wallace.”
Source: James Gilbert / Getty
Now a few years later, Michael and Hamlin are celebrating a huge win in the world of racing!
Source: Chris Graythen / Getty
“If I’m investing, if I’m a participant, then I want to win! I don’t want to be out there to be just another car,” Jordan said previously in an exclusive interview with The Observer.
And 23XI Racing has done just that! Driver, No. 45 Tyler Reddick, brought home a quite dramatic win for the home team. After blending in the pack for the majority of the race, Reddick made his move and finally took the lead in what many race fans say is the only one that matters, the final lap.
“Just incredible how it all played out. Just true Daytona madness,” Reddick said after the race. “Never thought I’d be Daytona 500 champion.”
This was the biggest win of Reddick’s career thus far and a huge win for 23XI Racing, breaking a 38-race winless streak for the team.
MJ immediately embraced Reddick in victory lane and helped lift the Harley J. Earl Trophy. He even compared the moment to winning an NBA title. “It feels like I won a championship,” Jordan said.
Winning one of NASCAR’s premier events for the first time to begin the 2026 season is a major accomplishment not only on the track for MJ and 23XI Racing. They are recently on the other side of a legal battle with NASCAR, which resulted in helping to reshape the business structure of the beloved sport.
Source: James Gilbert / Getty
Jordan was essentially the face of the antitrust lawsuit filed by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, which challenged NASCAR’s charter system and revenue model, centering on whether teams were being pressured into unfavorable agreements that limited their long-term stability.
During the trial Michael took the stand to testify and made sure to mention that, “someone had to step forward and challenge the entity.”
In the end NASCAR agreed to make charters permanent and committed to revisiting its revenue-sharing structure.
