Tyler Reddick won the 2026 Daytona 500, but this edition of The Great American Race will be remembered as the culmination of Michael Jordan’s transition from NBA owner to NASCAR team owner.
Jordan became a billionaire corporate CEO after his NBA career ended through his partnership with Nike and Jordan Brand. But his forays as an NBA executive initially with the Washington Wizards, and then for more than a decade as the owner of the Charlotte Hornets, did not lead to much success on the court. But over the past five years, Jordan has moved on from basketball and thrown himself into racing.
Like his rise to becoming arguably the NBA’s greatest player, Jordan has produced promising results, encountered unexpected roadblocks, and endured some rocky moments. A settlement in Jordan’s antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR was settled just a few months ago after Jordan had to take the witness stand as part of court proceedings.
Now, though, his 23XI Racing team won NASCAR’s premier event for the first time to begin the 2026 season and Jordan was there holding up one of racing’s biggest prizes and a little fired up celebrating another title, just in a completely different role and setting than the sports world was once accustomed to seeing him.
Here’s a look at Jordan’s history as an owner in the NBA and racing, as well as how he got involved with NASCAR and the drivers for 23XI Racing this season:
What does Michael Jordan own?
Jordan has been the co-owner of 23XI Racing along with Denny Hamlin for almost six years. It’s named after Jordan’s jersey number and the Roman numerals for Hamlin’s No. 11 car.
Jordan announced a partnership to start a NASCAR team with the greatest driver to never win a NASCAR Cup championship in September 2020 after they purchased a team charter from Germain Racing. 23XI Racing made its NASCAR Cup Series debut at the 2021 Daytona 500 with Toyota engines in its cars.
The team has progressively improved after an 11th-place finish to the 2021 season and finished fifth in the NASCAR team standings for the second year in a row in 2025. Sunday’s Daytona 500 victory by Reddick was the team’s 10th NASCAR Cup Series win since its inception. 23XI Racing has a technical partnership with Joe Gibbs Racing, who Hamlin still races for in his No. 11 car.
Jordan previously owned the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets. He initially bought a minority stake in the then-Charlotte Bobcats in 2006 and became the lead executive for basketball operations. Jordan eventually became the owner of the team in 2010. He sold the Hornets in 2023 at a $3 billion valuation after buying the majority stake at a $180 million valuation 13 years earlier. The franchise has never won an NBA playoff series and made the postseason just three times during Jordan’s time there.
Jordan also once owned Michael Jordan Motorsports, an AMA Superbike team, from 2003 to 2013.
How Michael Jordan got into NASCAR
‘Rockingham, Darlington, Talladega, Daytona, Richmond. We used to go on Sunday family trips: Load up our chicken and Cokes and go spend the day,’ Jordan recalled. ‘Drive up and drive back.’
Jordan’s relationship with Hamlin dates to 2006, when Jordan first bought into the Bobcats/Hornets. Hamlin was a Hornets season ticket holder and eventually developed a friendship with Jordan, who then signed Hamlin as a Jordan brand athlete. Hamlin and his former North Carolina basketball teammate Brad Daugherty, who is a longtime NASCAR owner, tried for years to convince Jordan to invest in NASCAR, according to ESPN.
Jordan said the presence of Black NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace, who jumped from Richard Petty Motorsports to 23XI Racing starting with its NASCAR debut in 2021, convinced him to become a NASCAR team owner.
‘When (Hamlin) told me there was a possibility of getting Bubba Wallace, I’m saying, ‘OK, this is perfect!’’ Jordan said to The Charlotte Observer in 2020. ‘If I’m getting involved in NASCAR, then get a Black driver (with) a Black owner.’
Michael Jordan NASCAR team: Who races for 23 XI Racing?
- No. 23 Bubba Wallace
- No. 35 Riley Herbst
- No. 45 Tyler Reddick