Denny Hamlin would have never imagined that a fake article claiming he and Michael Jordan were buying a NASCAR team would actually become reality. But that was the birth story 23XI Racing, a team that’s his pride, joy, and his baby. But in between all this the real catch is that he is also still a driver. While he balances the line between being a teammate, competitor, and owner perfectly, sometimes it can get messy. And he recently made that confession.

“I actually whipped out one of the 23XI cars for the win last year on the final lap,” Hamlin confessed while speaking in an interview with Gayle King alongside Michael Jordan and Tyler Reddick. And this story is one from the 2025 Kansas playoff race.

A late race restart allowed Bubba Wallace to take the lead on the final lap, and just when he thought he would cruise his way to the start-finish line, Hamlin pulled up right beside him and forced him into the wall. He thought he did enough to steal the win, but Chase Elliott made a smart, decisive move on the bottom lane to spoil the party. This really fired up MJ, so much so that he called Hamlin after the race.

“I said, I know you want to win, but race fairly. He kept trying to convince me that he raced fairly, and I’m like bullsh-t, I know you’re a competitor, and I probably would have thought of the same thing. I can understand it, but I can totally understand when he’s lying too,” MJ added. Now, Hamlin had already addressed the incident on his Actions Detrimental podcast after the incident took place too. One thing he made clear is: he has no regrets. 

Hamlin said. “I’m racing for the win, and I definitely won’t apologize for racing for the win.” He mentioned that when he is behind the wheel of the No. 11 car, his job is to drive, not manage his team on the track. He added, “People expect me to be a different person when I’m racing, but that’s just not possible. On Sunday, I’m the driver.”

Now off the track, Hamlin’s and Jordan’s partnership is tight. Together they filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR to push for a fairer system for all teams. Yes, the occasional drama may be there on track, but they have a shared vision, and as much as Hamlin is a fierce competitor, he wants the best for his drivers. And he’s passed his racecraft to Tyler Reddick to improve on his short-track racing.

“We’ve been able to have multiple conversations where we talk about racecraft. Whether it’s racing other cars or finding more speed. When I’ve been able to run you down at Richmond, it’s super rewarding because I was so bad there,” Reddick added to the conversation. And guess what, this is chemistry is already paying off for 23XI Racing.

Tyler Reddick has already won 4 races in 2026 and sits at the top of the leaderboard with a gap of 82 points to the runner-up driver after 7 starts. So the ship’s sailing in the right direction, and Hamlin’s just getting started with what he wants to achieve with his race team.

Denny Hamlin teases next step for 23XI

For now, Hamlin is busy trying to win his own championship. Hence, he can’t truly invest all of his time working with 23XI and trying to make them the best. While the team is working great and already running at the top for now, they are still arguably unstable. 

23XI’s co-owner is unable to impart to them a true vision due to his own career. That will only take place after Hamlin finally retires from driving.

“I only have a certain amount of time to do this as a competitor. So I want to accomplish all the goals that I can accomplish personally. But while that’s going on, I know that the process to build this into a championship organization takes a long time. 

“So we’re putting all the building blocks together. I think it’s all really going to come together right as soon as I’m done racing. And then I’m all in on, you know, getting these guys all the wins they can get. But they do it. They’re the ones that go out there and compete each week. It’s up for me and him to get them all the tools they need to succeed. But they’re the ones that actually get it done.”

Even though 23XI is in a technical alliance with JGR, the team can’t stay dependent for too long. Now that drivers like Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace are starting to earn the spotlight with good race finishes, they will have to step up their game. 23XI Racing will have to prove that it deserves the top spot as an independent team.