Michael Jordan is a force to be reckoned with in any sport that you drop him into.
Obviously, MJ is widely regarded as the best basketball player to ever live. Even while he was dominating the NBA with the Chicago Bulls, he was known to have an impressive golf game. And don’t forget that Jordan played professional baseball in 1994 – right when he was at the height of his career in basketball.
That domination and winning culture has even continued into his post-playing career in sports.
Michael Jordan co-owns the 23XI Racing team along with Cup Series superstar Denny Hamlin. The team and its drivers have slowly but surely become one of the top (if not the top) teams in NASCAR ever since 23XI entered into the sport in 2021. Bubba Wallace got things started by driving the number 23 car for the team, and it’s only grown and gone up from there.
Why? Because Michael Jordan is a co-owner. His star power alone has helped attract big-time sponsors, which eventually helped lead Wallace to win his first Cup Series race in 2021, after the driver spent around 3 years struggling on another team. If I need to come out and say it blatantly: The MJ-effect is still alive and well.
And that was proven when 23XI made NASCAR history by winning the first three races of the NASCAR season in 2026. Tyler Reddick, the driver of the No. 45 car, got to celebrate a lot in victory lane early on in the year. And Michael Jordan’s team as a whole has a lot of reason to celebrate, as other drivers for the team like Bubba Wallace have had strong starts to the season.
In an interview with CBS Mornings, Wallace said Michael Jordan’s love for racing and competition has been infectious. The former basketball star brought a basketball-like approach to racing, which is why the 23XI campus located outside Charlotte, North Carolina has a state of the art film room (so that pit crews can practice cutting tenths of seconds off pit stops) and a fitness center with trainers on site.
Wallace says that, as well as Jordan’s overall love for the sport, has had a tremendous and noticeable impact on NASCAR:
“It’s surprising to know that MJ has such a knack and such a passion for NASCAR. For motorsports in general. Now that I know him, his car collection, his super bike team that he had, now he’s an owner of a NASCAR team, it all makes sense. He loves to compete, he loves cars, he loves going fast.”
And Michael Jordan also helped Bubba Wallace find his confidence again.
There’s something that MJ told the driver of the No. 23 car early on in their relationship that has stuck with him. It’s a simple thought, but one that changed Wallace’s perspective on racing:
“There’s one guy that told me, ‘If you know you are gonna go into something and lose, then don’t compete.’ (That was) Michael Jordan.”
And I haven’t even mentioned that Michael Jordan was pivotal in taking a lawsuit against NASCAR – and winning it. Chances are MJ took that mindset into that bombshell lawsuit, and once again, one of the greatest competitors the world has ever seen came out on top.
There’s just an aura about Michael Jordan that takes things to the next level… and as you’ll hear in the interview below, Bubba Wallace can attest to that:
