On Oct. 22, Michael Jordan announced on Twitter that he had formed a new NASCAR racing team, 23XI Racing, alongside Denny Hamlin with Bubba Wallace as their driver.
Michael Jordan is a former professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls. He led the Bulls to six National Basketball Association (NBA) championship victories and was awarded Most Valuable Player (MVP) five times. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009 and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by former President Barack Obama in 2016.
Jordan grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina and attended the University of North Carolina (UNC) where he played on the basketball team. He is also the co-owner of the Charlotte Hornets, North Carolina’s NBA team. He bought a share in 2006 and became the team’s majority owner and chairman in 2010.
Denny Hamlin is a race car driver for the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The three-time Daytona 500 winner drives the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JBR). Hamlin will continue to drive for JBR despite co-owning 23IX.
Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. drove the No. 3 Chevrolet for Richard Petty Motorsports before he announced he was leaving the team on Sept. 10. Wallace is NASCAR’s only Black driver and was the first African American in 50 years to win NASCAR’s top three races. He placed second in the Daytona 500 as the first full-time Black driver in the Premier Cup Series and was runner-up for Rookie of the Year in 2018. Wallace is a regular advocate for racial justice and was successful in his fight to ban confederate flags in NASCAR arenas.
Richard Petty Motorsports, Bubba Wallace’s former team, is named after the Level Cross, North Carolina native and team co-owner, Richard Petty. Nicknamed ‘The King,’ Petty is the most decorated driver in NASCAR history with 200 career wins over the span of three decades. He is a part of the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and the North Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame. At age 83, he oversees Richard Petty Motorsports as well as Petty’s Garage, his automobile shop.
Michael Jordan named his team 23XI Racing after his retired UNC and Chicago Bulls jersey number, 23, and Hamlin’s car number, 11. The business partners met at a Hornets game in 2009 and have been friends ever since. 23XI Racing has partnered with Toyota Motor North America. Wallace will drive the No. 23 Toyota Camry when 23XI Racing makes its NASCAR Cup Series debut on February 14, 2021.
On choosing someone to race for their new team, Hamlin said, “deciding on a driver was easy — it had to be Bubba Wallace.”
With the creation of 23IX, Jordan became the first Black owner of a full time NASCAR Cup team since Wendell Scott in 1973. Jordan looks at the team as a way to diversify the sport.
“I see this as a chance to educate a new audience and open more opportunities for Black people in racing,” said Jordan.
“This is a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I believe is a great fit for me at this point in my career,” said Wallace. “Both Michael and Denny are great competitors and are focused on building the best team they possibly can to go out and compete for race wins. I’m grateful and humbled that Michael and Denny believe in me and I’m super pumped to begin this adventure with them.”
-Gianna Cacciato
