On Sunday in Talladega, 23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan got to witness one of his cars reach the victory lane. Being the first time that he did so in-person since becoming a team owner in NASCAR, he was overjoyed at the taste of success. With his presence in Dega being widely spoken about, a few icons have come and said what the basketball superstar’s influence has meant for the sport.
First off, the retired icon Kevin Harvick was extremely pleased watching Jordan partake in the pit road celebrations after Tyler Reddick steered the #45 Toyota Camry XSE home in winning position. He said on “Harvick Happy Hour”, “You could hear the passion and enthusiasm that he has for this sport when Jamie Little [reporter] interviewed him afterwards.”
Harvick expressed that watching Jordan celebrate was the best thing he has seen all year and that he deserved it for all the work that he’d put in. Voicing out a parallel and similar take was Dale Earnhardt Jr. He said on his podcast “Dale Jr. Download” that NASCAR was just beginning to realize the impact that Michael Jordan can have on the sport.
“You’re seeing NASCAR being talked about in other places that we traditionally don’t go and old places we used to go,” he quipped. “You know the influence that he has, you can’t measure it. We all talked about that the last couple of years, how important it is. But now, we are realizing that value as a winning owner. Imagine if Michael Jordan’s car wins the championship one day!”
Dale Jr.’s belief is that 23XI Racing winning the Cup Series title someday will catapult NASCAR’s popularity owing to Michael Jordan’s far reach on a global scale. However, the racing icon was also quick to note how many within the industry knew him not for being a basketball legend but for his shoes.
Jeff Burton and 23XI Racing president shower praise on Jordan’s commitment to NASCAR
Conversing with former crew chief Steve Letarte on NBC, Jeff “Mayor” Burton doted on Jordan’s after-race enthusiasm. The basketball star was seen carrying around race-winner Tyler Reddick’s son, Beau, around the pit-road. Later on, Burton and Letarte discussed how winning a race required extraordinary hard work. Hence, the jubilation around the 23XI Racing garage was a celebration of the same.
Steve Lauletta, the president of 23XI Racing, spoke to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio in the aftermath of the win and expressed that having Michael Jordan as a team owner helped their cause. “As you heard him say in his interview with Jamie Little, it scratches that competitive itch that he always had. We couldn’t be happier that he was as excited as he was,” he said.
