Michael Jordan's co-owned 23XI Racing team opened their victory account for the 2024 season as Tyler Reddick bagged the GEICO 500 win at the Talladega Superspeedway. After leading 13 laps, the #45 Toyota Camry emerged victorious from a neck-to-neck battle with the contenders and etched their place among the top teams.However, had Denny Hamlin not gone to attend the Michael Jordan-owned Charlotte Hornets 2010 NBA match, 23XI Racing might not be a thing at all. A couple of days after the North Carolina-based outfit claimed their sixth Cup Series win, Hamlin revealed details of how his partnership with Jordan, having a net worth of $3.2 billion (via Forbes), actually came to be.The Joe Gibbs Racing driver told motorsports reporter Frank Fleming how the halftime of the game made him a good friend of Jordan (via Barstool Sports on X):"I was going to the halfway break house during halftime. He had a security pull me aside and asked to meet me. I am completely starstruck. He gets my phone number, and then the second half of the game he’s asking me all these racing questions." (0.28) "I think that that relationship that I built with him, that friendship then turned into us playing golf together, doing things together, talking racing together," added Hamlin.Fake news prompts Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan to the birth of 23XI RacingSince his early days in NASCAR, the JGR driver had a knack for controlling the business side of the sport, which wasn't possible for him inside Joe Gibbs' stable, so he had an eye for other opportunities elsewhere.The summer of 2020 saw a barrage of rumors concerning Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin's purchase of a minority stake in Richard Petty Motorsports for fielding the #43 Chevy driver for RPM, Bubba Wallace.The reality was that only the Florida native was interested in the deal and the NBA legend had no clue about it. However, the chain reaction initiated by the "fake news" resulted in what the paddock knows as 23XI Racing today.Hamlin revealed how the spread of fake information resulted in building a Cup Series team rather than acquiring it, saying:"A fake news article comes out and says, 'Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan are looking to purchase a stake in Richard Petty Motorsports. I was doing it but now him [Jordan]."He added:"I sent him this article and I said, 'Hey, looks like we're going into business together.' He said, 'Haha, that's obviously fake news, but if you want to make it real news, let me know.'"