Just when it seemed the war between NASCAR and its top teams was over, Denny Hamlin couldn’t resist throwing one last verbal grenade. With Tyler Reddick securing the win at the Daytona 500, the 23XI Racing co-owner couldn’t help in making a tongue-in-cheek comment, even though both parties have called a truce after agreeing on a mutual settlement.

Hamlin’s jibe at NASCAR while Jordan fell silent

Denny Hamlin appeared for an interview with the Cup Scene on YouTube at the end of ‘The Great American Race’. This was when he spoke about the Daytona Speedweek, where two teams, Front Row Motorsports and 23XI Racing, that were in confrontation with NASCAR, won.

“You know I’m really happy for them, too,” Hamlin, who is notoriously known for his trash talk, said. “I mean, they’re the ones that had to answer all the questions and stuff from last year, and we were working vigorously behind the scenes, late nights reading documents, and just on and on and on. They had no idea what we were doing. They just were the ones that had to come to the racetrack and ask the questions.”

Notably, Hamlin, the 23XI Racing co-owner, aimed the dig at Jim France and Co. after Chandler Smith of Front Row Motorsports won the Truck Series race on Friday, followed by Austin Hill of Richard Childress Racing on Saturday, and Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing on Sunday.

While 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports were involved in the lawsuit, RCR filed a lawsuit against NASCAR after its former executive, Steve Phelps’ derogatory chat texts with Brian Herbst went public. While Hamlin took a jibe, another co-owner, Jordan, did the opposite.

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“Like MJ’s the notorious trash talker, right? Like, he trash-talks everybody. He didn’t trash-talk NASCAR after he won,” Jordan Bianchi said in the recent Teardown podcast. “It was like, no, we are in this together. Like, he didn’t take shots. He didn’t take jabs like, come on, like I’m MJ. None of that. It was no, we’re going forward. We’re in this together. I’m here because I love it. It was stuff like that. It wasn’t pointing fingers or saying, it was no, I’m here. I’m committed. We’re moving on. What happened, happened.”

Interestingly, Jordan and Co. were directly against Jim France and NASCAR during the lawsuit, but after the landmark settlement, which made the charters permanent and increased revenue for teams, things seemed to have changed between them.

The exchange was notably cordial, with France personally congratulating Jordan in victory lane—a moment that drew widespread attention from the NASCAR community. While Jordan was reserved during his exchange with France, he was openly elated in his post-race interviews, leaving no doubt about his excitement.

Michael Jordan is ecstatic after the Daytona 500 victory

After Tyler Reddick crossed the finish line at Daytona, Michael Jordan went into a frenzy. A longtime NASCAR enthusiast and co-owner of the Cup Series team, this was the first time he tasted the Daytona 500 victory.

“It feels like I won a championship, but until I get my ring, I won’t even know,” an elated Jordan said after the race. “I can’t even believe it. It was so gratifying,” Jordan said. “You never know how these races are going to end. You just try to survive. We hung in there all day. Great strategy by the team, and we gave ourselves a chance at the end. Look, I’m ecstatic.”

Reddick survived a last-lap scare as he maneuvered through the wrecks of Carson Hocevar and Michael McDowell. In the end, he kept Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Joey Logano at bay to win his first race of the season, and his first since the 2024 Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the same month when 23XI and FRM filed the lawsuit.

After the checkered flag was waved, Jordan was seen hugging Reddick in Victory Lane, before they lifted the Harley J. Earl trophy. The NBA Hall of Famer, who turned 63 on February 17th, will get the perfect birthday present, a Daytona 500 ring, and he made it clear that he wears size 13.