AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Michael Jordan calls Denny Hamlin the “mastermind” behind their 23XI NASCAR racing team. Hamlin calls their co-ownership a “perfect partnership.”
The team has been nothing shy of perfect behind driver Tyler Reddick so far early in 2026.
Reddick became the first driver in Cup Series history to win the first three races of the season Sunday. He started the first road course race of the year from pole position, then held off hard-charging Shane van Gisbergen for the victory at the Circuit of the Americas
When Reddick's Toyota zoomed across the finish line, Jordan was celebrating with the pit crew as the basketball Hall of Famer and six-time NBA champion exchanged high-fives and hugs.
Reddick has been seeing a lot of postrace smiles from Jordan — after he won the Daytona 500 and then again in Atlanta. Reddick said Jordan reminded him last week that he “does things in threes,” referring to Jordan's NBA championships clusters with the Chicago Bulls.
“I was really glad to live up to that standard,” Reddick said.
Jordan's having so much fun, he now wants to go for four.
“I'm going to Phoenix,” Jordan said, noting the next race on the calendar.
And why not? The team is having a lot of fun on its march through NASCAR history.
Jordan and Hamlin took on NASCAR with a federal antitrust lawsuit. The settlement in December was considered a major legal victory that secured a permanent franchise-style model and ensured the team would remain in business for the long-term.
Jordan gives Hamlin the credit for building the race-winning team on the track, specifically noting Hamlin's pursuit of Reddick as a driver.
“He's the mastermind,” Jordan said. “I just put up the money. Denny’s done an incredible job building this team.”
Hamlin gave the compliment right back.
“It's a perfect partnership,” Hamlin said. “This doesn't work out if he doesn’t give me a lot of autonomy.”
Hamlin, who also drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, said he wanted to be as hands-on as possible when building the team.
“I wanted to make sure if it failed it was because of something I did,” Hamlin said. “This team had three employees working at. We had zero. We didn’t buy a team, we just built it.”
Bringing in Reddick has proven almost priceless.
The 30-year-old driver raced to his first win with 23XI at COTA in 2023. He was second at Daytona in 2025, but a season that started with such promise ended winless.
Now he seems unbeatable.
“What a dream start for those guys,” Hamlin said.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
“Powerful, moving, and exhilarating” Read moreSongs For A New World
Sherri Roberts Quartet with Sherri Roberts vocals, Dave Udolf piano, Chris Amberger bass, an… Read more"I'm Hip" A Tribute to the Hep-Cat Singers-Songwriters of Jazz
Exclusive film screening in San Mateo Read moreA LITTLE FELLOW: THE LEGACY OF A.P.GIANNINI
CA Is Burning said:
CA Is Burning said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.