Denny Hamlin is currently the co-owner of 23XI Racing with Michael Jordan, but their relationship goes back much further than when they got into business together.
For a while now, it’s been known that Hamlin and Jordan have been chummy. The No. 11 wheelman’s firesuit and shoes are both made by Jordan Brand, and he was the only driver for a number of seasons where that was the case.
Joining Frank Walks, presented by Barstool Sports, Hamlin elaborated on the backstory between himself and Jordan, and how season tickets to the Charlotte Hornets might be the greatest purchase Hamlin has ever made.
Denny Hamlin ended up co-owning a team with Michael Jordan by accident. @NjTank99 'Frank Walks' presented by @NASCAR: https://t.co/sXzLw23PNx pic.twitter.com/5Emjd5A2ai
“It really was an accident,” Hamlin explained, regarding when he first met Jordan. “I met Michael Jordan at a Charlotte Hornets game. He was obviously sitting court-side with his team. This is in the early years of him owning it. I was a court-side season ticket holder, and I was going to, you know, the halfway, break house or whatever, during halftime. Well, he had security pull me aside and ask to meet me. And so, of course, I am completely starstruck.
“So he gets my phone number, and then the second half of the game, he’s asking me all these racing questions like, why would, you know, last week, why would you pit in this scenario versus just staying out? And I’m like, wait a minute, this guy watches NASCAR? And I was just blown away by it. Well, that started a friendship, that essentially, you know, led to a year later me saying, ‘Hey, man, why don’t you make my my suit, my shoes, my gloves.? He’s like, ‘Done.’ So you know, he calls up the people at Nike and the Jordan Brand, they start making all my gear, and it just changed a lot of things. So I think that that relationship that I built with him, that friendship, then turned into us playing golf together, doing things together, talking racing together.”
As their friendship grew, when the opportunity to start a race team together arose, Hamlin and Jordan jumped at the bit to get into business together. That’s been a tremendous decision for both men, as 23XI Racing figures to be one of the best up and coming teams in the sport moving forward.
It’s brought NASCAR into an entirely new light, and helped change the careers and hobbies for both Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan. There’s no telling how much success their team can have in the Cup Series over the next couple of seasons.
