How Denny Hamlin convinced Michael Jordan to shell out $150 million and venture into racing business together

NBA legend Michael Jordan and racing icon Denny Hamlin co-own the 23XI Racing team that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. While the team started by golf buddies is now in its third year of operation, the backstory of how Jordan decided to venture into motorsports is quite interesting.

Jordan is one of the richest athletes in the world, with an estimated net worth of $2 billion. The Chicago Bulls legend has made a name for himself in the business world with his investments across various sectors. While most of his investments were calculative decisions, his business move to enter the racing world was born out of a different scenario.

With the growing craze for car racing in the United States, Michael Jordan wanted to invest in a racing team and so did Denny Hamlin, a NASCAR driver racing for Joe Gibbs Racing. Both initially wanted to buy a stake in Richard Petty Motorsports (now known as Legacy Motor Club) but failed to do so.

Denny Hamlin driver of the #11 Toyota

Jordan was well associated with Hamlin, as the two were regularly seen playing golf together. When the NASCAR ace shared his interest in becoming a team owner, the media immediately drew a connection to his golf buddy Jordan.

Surprisingly, Hamlin later revealed that it was these speculations that led the Basketball Hall of Famer to partner with him. He admitted that they simply wanted to make fake news real.

Brought into existence due to speculations, 23XI Racing was created in 2020, with Jordan investing $150 million as a majority owner and Hamlin taking up a minority stake. Hamlin also admitted that having his golf buddy as a co-owner gave him more authority even with a lesser stake.

The #11 Toyota driver said:

"I just thought that I wanted to have my say. Honestly, I got down to Richard Petty Motorsports, and that was a team I was looking to buy a minority stake in. But ultimately, I found that I wasn’t gonna get the control that I needed. The autonomy to really run it the way that I thought it needed to be run. So I’m like this isn’t the right fit for me either."

23XI Racing has grown into a race-winning organization and is striving to be a consistent front-runner.

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Team owner Michael Jordan could barely watch Bubba Wallace leading the GEICO 500

NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500

Michael Jordan grabbed attention with his presence at the Talladega Superspeedway for GEICO 500 on Sunday, April 23. Bubba Wallace, the driver of the #23 Toyota from 23XI Racing, kept Jordan on his toes while leading the majority of the race.

The #23 car was quite difficult to handle, but Wallace pulled off many blocks while at the front. Jordan's reactions were broadcast live as he watched his driver race to the checkered flag.

However, disaster struck on the final lap when Ryan Blaney bumped into Wallace, sending the latter spinning and down the order. Wallace finished the race in 28th position while Tyler Reddick salvaged a top 15 result for the team.

Michael Jordan was visibly disappointed with the final lap incident.