The Re-Education of His Airness: How Michael Jordan Quietly Conquered NASCAR

His NBA ownership was a disaster. His racing team is a masterclass. Inside MJ’s stunning blueprint for building a motorsport empire

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It is very special to see an athlete excel in two different sports. Some notable athletes who have done this include Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders. But when the greatest player in basketball history decided to take his talents to NASCAR, no one thought that he would grab the same level of success as he did in the NBA.

Michael Jordan’s transition from the basketball court to the NASCAR garage is one of the most fascinating second acts in sports history. While his tenure as an NBA owner with the Charlotte Hornets was plagued by frustration, his venture into stock car racing has turned into an absolute masterclass in team building and competitive success.

Today, we will learn how ‘His Airness” got into the sport, and just how incredibly successful he has become.

How Jordan Got into NASCAR: Childhood Fan to Owner

People tend to think that Jordan just happened to stumble into NASCAR. But he actually grew up a massive racing fan in North Carolina, routinely going to tracks with his father, according to Cassius Life.

In articles by CBS News and Yahoo Sports, Jordan remembered all of the races he attended as a child:

“We drove to Darlington, Charlotte, Rockingham-- all local places… We would leave early in the morning on Sunday morning, and then we’d spend the day and come back… and my brother and I started looking forward to going to the races. It was a group event. The family sat there and we watched the race. Four hours, five hours, six hours, didn’t matter. We were gonna watch the race. For me to have an opportunity to continue to come back and be a part of this kinda reminds me of being back home in North Carolina and being able to connect with the family and watch the race.”

The spark to actually own a team ignited through a friendship with NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin, who had been a Jordan Brand athlete since 2011.

The summer of 2020 saw NASCAR begin a cultural push for greater diversity and inclusion. By this time, there were many rumors of Jordan becoming interested in the sport.

In September 2020, Jordan and Hamlin dubbed 23XI Racing, combining MJ’s iconic №23 and Hamlin’s №11. Jordan assumed the role of majority owner, making him NASCAR’s only Black majority owner, according to Wikipedia.

The organization made a massive statement by signing Bubba Wallace, the Cup Series’ prominent trailblazer, as their flagship driver for the 2021 NASCAR season.

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On-Track Success: A Historical Rise

Most expansion teams in NASCAR take a decade or longer to become relevant. 23XI Racing bypassed the learning curve entirely, quickly establishing itself as a tier-one powerhouse in the garage. This was in large part due to three major accomplishments:

• Breakthrough (2021–2022): Bubba Wallace secured the team’s emotional first victory at Talladega Superspeedway in late 2021. The team expanded to a two-car operation soon after, adding veteran champion Kurt Busch, who secured another win at Kansas in 2022.
• The Tyler Reddick Era (2023–2025): The team only got stronger by 2023. They took a step forward when they signed NASCAR phenom Tyler Reddick. The young star pushed the team deep into the playoffs, culminating in hanging onto the prestigious NASCAR Regular Season Points title. Meanwhile, Wallace added to the trophy case by winning the historic Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
• Historic Pace (2026-present): The team has completely dominated so far in 20246. Reddick kicked off the season by winning the Daytona 500, the crown jewel of stock car racing. This gave Jordan his first Harley J. Earl trophy. But Reddick kept going. He strung together a historic run of wins to start the year, making 23XI Racing a powerhouse at the very top of the Cup Series standings.

Through their first five-plus seasons, the organization has racked up 14 Cup Series wins and expanded into a three-car operation. They introduced NASCAR driver Riley Herbst and introduced Airspeed, a state-of-the-art headquarters in MJ’s childhood state, North Carolina.

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Jordan’s Transformation of NASCAR

Jordan’s success has not just been measured by checkered flags. But his presence completely altered NASCAR’s cultural and financial landscape. He brought a massive wave of outside corporate sponsorships.

NASCAR Driver Denny Hamlin said this in an article on FOX Sports on MJ’s passion for the sport:

“He loves this race team. In [a] meeting that we had just a few weeks ago with the team, I reminded them about Talladega and how excited he was on pit road. And I was like, ‘Do you guys understand the responsibilities that you have, that you have the power to bring joy to Michael Jordan? You have that power’”.

Labels like McDonald’s, DoorDash, Columbia, and Dr. Pepper are just a few of the massive brands that Jordan brought along to the sport.

This also showed that MJ was not afraid to take risks. Following a bitter dispute over team revenue and charter permanence, 23XI Racing filed a high-profile antitrust lawsuit against the league to challenge the sport's traditional business model. The result saw both parties reach an agreement.

In conclusion, Jordan’s NASCAR journey has proved that his legendary competitive gene translates perfectly in the parking lot. He built a championship-caliber organization that is actively defining the modern era of racing.

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