Cup Series champion exposes how much Michael Jordan really knows about NASCAR

Michael Jordan has played to win at everything he’s ever done, and we can absolutely include NASCAR on that list.

When Jordan founded the 23XI Racing team with current Cup Series great Denny Hamlin back in 2020, some wondered if his involvement was more about style than substance. A marketing gimmick to help the new venture gain lustre and sponsorship dollars. Turns out they were dead wrong.

The six-time NBA champion and greatest basketball player that ever lived has proved in the five years since that he is putting all his chips on ruling the racetrack like he once dominated the court.

Jordan and Hamlin are currently engaged in a bitter courtroom battle with NASCAR over the very future of the sport, and the direction it takes in the future. Another example of how the GOAT is fully bought in and across everything.

One man who has experienced that knowledge and buy-in up close and personal is former Cup Series great Kevin Harvick. He felt it when he exited the playoffs one final time at Bristol in 2023.

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Jordan is all in on NASCAR

Speaking on his ‘Happy Hour’ podcast, he revealed: "When I walked out of Bristol the last year, and we had a miserable day, missed the playoffs and everything that went down, and that was it.

"And I was walking down the tunnel, and this big hand comes grabbing my shoulder. And he says, ‘you just gotta be proud of everything that you’ve done. Don’t worry about what happened today’.

"And Michael talked to me all the way out of that tunnel - he was kind of like the counselor between the exit of the garage back to the motorhome lot.”

Even though Jordan may only have laser focus on only one NASCAR team, he knows the sport on a wider level too. And it all comes back to that burning desire to play AND win says Harvick.

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MJ is here to play AND win

“He knows what’s happening in the garage. He may not know you personally, but he knows about you," Harvick said on MJ.

"He knows about the drivers, he knows about the sport. And that’s the thing - he’s not here just to play, he’s here to play and win.

“And he knows, he’s very knowledgeable about everything that’s happening in that garage.”

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