DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Known as one of the legendary trash-talkers in sports history, Michael Jordan could’ve fired off a pointed barb in the euphoria of Tyler Reddick delivering Jordan’s 23XI Racing a Daytona 500 victory.
Not only had they prevailed in NASCAR’s signature event, but also it marked the first official race since December, when 23XI and NASCAR settled a bruising, bloody legal battle that saw 23XI and another team gain nearly every major concession they sought.
Reasons existed throughout Sunday for Jordan to talk smack at any point. Except he didn’t do that. Not before the race in a national television interview with Fox Sports, nor afterward in triumph after Reddick delivered the sixth-year team its biggest moment.
In contrast to how he conducted himself on an NBA court, Jordan was magnanimous all day at Daytona International Speedway. He passionately told Fox how much NASCAR and the Daytona 500 meant to him and his family, with whom he’d watch the race.
He also spoke of the importance of NASCAR and its teams coming together, putting what happened in the past, and how they each needed to better communicate and listen to grow the sport they all love.
That message never wavered following Reddick’s win, even after emerging from a private suite along Daytona’s frontstretch where Jordan saw NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell and NASCAR executive Ben Kennedy, whose family founded NASCAR, and whose uncle, Jim France, NASCAR’s chairman and CEO, was a co-defendant in the antitrust lawsuit.
O’Donnell told The Athletic he spotted Jordan, with both his hands in the air, shouting, “Yes! Yes! Yes! This is the greatest. The greatest.” Jordan then offered only warmth, no jabs.
“I’ve never seen a guy that enthusiastic — I mean, other than winning an NBA championship,” O’Donnell said. “He gave us both hugs. It was a really cool moment. It’s pretty awesome.”
Even in a setting where it’s easy to let the moment overcome you, nothing changed in victory lane.
After celebrating with Reddick and the rest of 23XI, Jordan again held his head high as he walked away. No semblance of the NBA legend renowned for carrying a grudge against anyone who dared to challenge him. The legal fight may have been ugly at times, but that was then and this is now.
“The offseason was the offseason, but I think this is a whole new beginning,” Jordan told The Athletic.
One reason for Jordan’s reactions: His relationship with NASCAR is very different than his relationship with his NBA rivals.
A big part of it is he genuinely loves NASCAR. Having grown up in NASCAR’s North Carolina hotbed, he became a fan through his dad, who was a fan himself and had a good connection with then-NASCAR team owner Hoss Ellington. As a kid, Jordan often would pile into the family vehicle to drive to NASCAR races across the southeast.
His lifelong fandom spurred Jordan in 2020 to take NASCAR superstar driver Denny Hamlin up on his idea to form 23XI. And unlike so many other sports figures who have started teams over the years but had little real interest in big-time stock car racing, Jordan is no “here-today-gone-tomorrow” owner who is only seeking to make a splash, not build a championship-caliber organization.
He has invested himself in 23XI in every way. He’s all in. And 23XI is among NASCAR’s very best teams.
This fueled his passion to spearhead the lawsuit. Wanting NASCAR to be its best self is something that matters deeply to him. But with significant changes needing to happen, he took action.
Then, almost immediately after the legal opponents reached a settlement, Jordan stood on the steps of a federal courthouse to state how any animosity that had existed between 23XI and NASCAR was now gone. This wasn’t just corporate speak from someone taking the high road, but a genuine belief.
Nothing has changed since — a sentiment everyone at 23XI makes it a point to convey.
“You don’t want to take away from what the team accomplished and what Tyler accomplished,” said Hamlin, himself a noted trash talker. “Certainly, we don’t want any headlines written other than Tyler Reddick wins the Daytona 500. I think that’s the most important thing. It’s his day. It’s (crew chief Billy Scott’s) day. They need to be celebrated.”
Hamlin is right. There is no need to dunk on NASCAR. Instead, the prevailing emotion should be a sense of accomplishment. Let what they did stand by itself. Because winning the Daytona 500 is more important and far bigger than making it be an “I told you so” moment.
“It’s like winning a championship, like a huge championship,” Jordan said to The Athletic from Daytona’s Victory Lane. “Unbelievable.”