Michael Jordan’s Introduction to Racing

Racing is in the blood and the air in North Carolina. Michael’s father, James Jordan, was a lifelong gearhead who worked on Cup cars owned by veteran NASCAR owner Hoss Ellington in addition to his own vehicle. Michael was accompanied by his siblings when James brought them to racetracks including Darlington, Rockingham, Charlotte, Daytona, and Talladega. Michael would later pick up some basketball, but the passion his father had instilled in him remained.

Jordan and Earnhardt met at Jordan’s restaurant after Dale Earnhardt broke his record for merchandise sold on QVC in the 1990s. They joked about working together on a souvenir project that would have printed money for both of them. That never happened, but Jordan would eventually fully commit to NASCAR in a way that would have pleased Earnhardt.

The long-retired Jordan, who is now the owner of the Charlotte Hornets, called on Hamlin at one NBA game. Hamlin is such a basketball addict that he frequently sits courtside at Hornets games. Jordan startled Hamlin by inquiring about racing tactics at a high level. Jordan soon started supporting Hamlin’s racing career by donning the Jumpman emblem on his firesuit and attending races to show his support.

Hamlin and Jordan said in September 2021 that they were expanding their collaboration and launching a new team called 23XI Racing. “XI” stands in for 11, Hamlin’s vehicle number. They hired Wallace, and Jordan openly stated his aim to improve NASCAR’s track record on diversity when he announced the team’s inception. Wallace is the only Black driver in NASCAR, and the endorsement of Michael Jordan has helped to make him one of the sport’s most recognizable figures.

However, Jordan is often associated with success, whereas 23XI is, um, not. As of Sunday, the team had won four races out of 128; two of them were by Wallace, one by Kurt Busch, and one by Tyler Reddick. 23XI has an 18.9 average finish as a team. Wallace has averaged finishes of 18.3, 19.4, and 21.3 throughout the course of his two plus years at 23XI. Especially because Reddick, a new teammate, is starting strong, frustration is about to blow up.

At Talladega, a celebrity who wishes to merely fit in with the racing scene

Wallace picked up one of his two victories for 23XI at Talladega. Yes, the race was stopped by rain in October 2021, but the results are all the same in the records. Additionally, due to Talladega’s unpredictable character, almost every driver in the lineup has a shot to win if the stars align and there aren’t any accidents.

Given all of that, as well as his ties to traditional NASCAR in general, it wasn’t altogether surprising when Fox cameras discovered Jordan in the pit area just prior to the start of the race. He sat down for the duration of the race, put on headphones, and kept his eyes on the monitors in front of him while wearing a white 23XI sweatshirt, a white Jumpman baseball hat, and Jordans the deep blue of the ocean floor.

A good number of celebrities attend NASCAR races. Sometimes they are actual Tom Cruise-caliber Hollywood celebrities, but they typically appear during the Daytona 500. Influencers of the moment who appear to be looking around for Max Verstappen occasionally appear. They often perform a fast turn on the grid before entering a suite securely behind glass and a long way from the action.

Jordan not. Since Michael Jordan tends to draw attention everywhere he goes, he hasn’t attended many races, but when he has, he has sat directly on pit road. He doesn’t do prerace interviews, doesn’t make a big show of himself. He’s not here to be seen; he’s come to watch racing.

Jordan is interacting with others in the box on Sunday while Wallace spends a lot of time in the head of the group, discussing tactics and pointing at the monitors. Other times, he just sits by himself, one of the most well-known men in the world, and enjoys the sport that his father first introduced him to.

Jordan arrived on a really fortunate day. Wallace appears to be in good shape as his Toyota, which is decorated with a fish, repeatedly takes the lead. Talladega is always anyone’s race, and on this particular day, it is quite likely that Bubba will win.