"He can own his own golf course": When Joe Gibbs deemed Michael Jordan's NASCAR entry as 'a huge deal' with 23XI Racing
In 2020, Denny Hamlin announced 23XI Racing, a Cup Series team of which he was a co-owner with Michael Jordan. This ensured that Hamlin would serve two roles in the sport, as he'd continue to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing as well.
However, the commonalities between JGR and Hamlin's new team stretched further than the #11 driver's dual role. This was because Joe Gibbs Racing would be working with the newly formed team in terms of personnel and resources.
And speaking about 23XI Racing, its $3.5 billion worth co-owner Michael Jordan, and JGR's relationship with the team, the owner Joe Gibbs expressed his high praise and the 'big deal' nature of the whole affair in a 2020 interview.
“It’s a big deal for our sport. Michael Jordan is a high-profile person that everybody loves. They’ll be able to see him and be around him. He’s going to help us from a diversity and high-profile standpoint. Michael Jordan can do anything he wants. He can own his own golf course. For him to make the decision to get involved in our sport, it’s a huge deal for us," Gibbs described, via Forbes.
As for his team's relationship with 23XI, Joe Gibbs suggested that while they were working on many things at that time, he was hopeful of there being a relationship with the new organization.
Gibbs touched on Denny Hamlin's long-standing association with Toyota, which goes as long back as JGR's own relationship with the Japanese manufacturer.
23XI Racing has grown exponentially in less than five seasons
The team co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin made its debut as a one-car team in the first week of the 2021 Cup season. The #23 car was handed to Bubba Wallace, who registered 23XI Racing as a race-winning team with his win at Talladega later in that season.
In their first season, 23XI Racing announced that they'd be expanding to a two-car team from 2022 onwards. The Hamlin-Jordan operation acquired a charter and added the #45 team, for which Kurt Busch was signed. The team would add another victory to its name at Kansas in 2022 with its newly added racecar.
23XI further spread its wings by hiring the breakout star of the 2022 season, Tyler Reddick, in the #45 car for the 2023 season. The RCR driver was coming off of a season with three wins to his name and promised to be a good investment for his future team. And that's how things began to shape up for 23XI as Reddick won twice in his first season with the Hamlin-Jordan operation.
However, in 2024, 23XI Racing registered their biggest achievements yet as Reddick won the Regular Season Championship, made it to Championship 4 in Phoenix, and ended the season with three wins to his name.
It's worth mentioning that in 2024, 23XI Racing found itself in the headlines for its ongoing legal battle with NASCAR over the charter conflict.
But with the team all set to grow into a three-team organization in the near future, the progress that it has made in less than five years is nothing short of remarkable.