Michael Jordan and 23XI Racing can’t stop winning.
The sports icon 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? One could argue that it’s all 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, has been a force to be reckoned with this year. And this past weekend, he continued his winning ways by coming out on top at Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. It was his fourth win in six races.
The only other NASCAR drivers to ever accomplish that feat? Bill Elliott and Dale Earnhardt.
Needless to say, Reddick, Jordan and 23XI are enjoying a remarkable run to start 2026. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that MJ was literally jumping for joy… considering he jumped the SAFER barrier to celebrate the win with the No. 45 car’s team:
He’s called Air Jordan for a reason.
And in another cool angle from the post-race celebration, Tyler Reddick got to soak in the win by hearing one of the greatest athletes of all time hype him up and tell him great job. There’s no doubt that Michael Jordan is passionate about NASCAR, and now that he and his team are dominating – like he did back in his playing days with the Chicago Bulls – Jordan is really loving it:
“Domination all day. Man good job, that was unbelievable.”
@23xiracing“Domination all day.” -The Boss 🏆🏆🏆🏆
Can’t imagine how cool it must feel to be dapped up by Michael Jordan after winning a NASCAR race.
If Tyler Reddick didn’t win another race for the rest of the year, he’d still have put together one of the best years in recent memory. But he and the No. 45 car are showing no signs of slowing down, and chances are he’s gonna shoot for that modern era record of 13 wins in a season that Jeff Gordon currently holds from his 1998 season (Richard Petty won 27 races in one season back in 1967).
Oh, and if Jordan ever wants to branch out and make Jordan brand stuff specifically for NASCAR, racing fans have already done him a favor and created a fitting logo:
