NBA icon Michael Jordan continues to expand his empire across all sports. He has been involved in the racing business with his own NASCAR team since 2020. Collaborating with stock car speedster Denny Hamlin, Jordan is growing 23XI Racing at a rapid pace. This comes after the billionaire sold his ownership stake in the Charlotte Hornets recently. The sale left mixed feelings among basketball fans. But not for Hamlin.

The $65 million worth Hamlin is the link between Jordan and the NASCAR business. He still wants a business partner who’s all in. Jordan’s reign as an unsuccessful NBA team owner doesn’t deter the racer, though. In fact, he is optimistic about it.

Denny Hamlin is positive about Michael Jordan as a co-owner

NBA Hall-of-Famer Michael Jordan and NASCAR star Denny Hamlin established their NASCAR team, 23XI Racing in 2020. The team fields drivers like Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, Travis Pastrana, and Kamui Kobayashi. Many, however, questioned if Jordan has what it takes to build a winning NASCAR team. He, after all, didn’t have a great stint as an NBA team owner.

The retired pro was a majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets. But the team wasn’t faring better under the 6x NBA champion’s reign. Many analysts claimed it would be better for Jordan to walk away from the franchise, as he was not bringing much to the table.

Jordan was allegedly “forced” to sell his stake in the team. Some even linked the $3 billion sale to Jordan’s old gambling addiction. Given that Jordan wasn’t able to recreate his success as a player into that of a team owner, how would he do as his focus shifts completely to his NASCAR team?

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23XI co-owner, Denny Hamlin is not at all worried about that. Hamlin was recently caught on record chiming his opinion on the Hornets sale. And he sounded happy about it. “Certainly, he’s involved in more meetings. Now he wants to be on every branding e-mail. I’m like, ‘Oh boy, this could be interesting.’ So, yeah, I think he has some more time and perhaps he’s gonna use that more on the race team.” 

One thing any NBA fan would testify, Jordan doesn’t do anything halfheartedly. Hamlin certainly sees that.

The growing brand of 23XI Racing

‘His Airness’ was still the owner of the Hornets when he entered the NASCAR business in 2020. 23XI rolled out their first car in the 2021 Cup Series with Bubba Wallace. Car enthusiast Jordan is proving he’s got the mettle to be a racing team owner. They’re now expanding their business in a grand way.

23XI Racing has signed a new deal with a video game company. So Reddick will wear the design that gives a nod to the game, Rocket League. This partnership is giving Jordan’s team great publicity. Fans love the world of racing and video games converging through some big names like Jordan and Reddick.

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