Michael Jordan’s NASCAR winning streak ended Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.
NASCAR’s Michael Jordan winning streak, though, just kept humming along.
Tyler Reddick, who drives for the 23XI Racing team co-owned by Jordan and Denny Hamlin, finished sixth and fell short of becoming the first driver in Cup Series history to win the first four races of the season. The weekend was dominated by Team Penske, which swept the IndyCar and Cup pole positions and race wins at Phoenix.
But that impressive feat wasn’t what placed NASCAR on a nationally televised morning show Monday.
We're happy to welcome @CBSMornings' @GayleKing to the race track! pic.twitter.com/rGshohySRC
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 8, 2026
Gayle King teased out an upcoming feature from attending the first NASCAR race of her life. The CBS host (and best friend of Oprah Winfrey, another Chicago icon like Jordan) spent Sunday in the pits with MJ, hung out in prerace with Reddick and 23XI teammate Bubba Wallace and took a pace car ride at Phoenix with NASCAR executive Ben Kennedy.
Her royal treatment to spread the racing gospel is part of a larger storyline. Because of Jordan, many mainstream influencers and mega-personalities are finding their way to NASCAR lately. Fellow basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson congratulated his friend on social media recently for making racing history.
NASCAR, of course, is taking notice and using every opportunity to promote Jordan and his starpower.
That would have been unfathomable a year ago when the world’s most famous athlete essentially was largely invisible in NASCAR marketing and media.
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 15: NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France (L) congratulates Michael Jordan, NBA Hall of Famer and co-owner of 23XI Racing in victory lane after Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 Chumba Casino Toyota, wins the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2026 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
NASCAR CEO and chairman Jim France congratulated Michael Jordan after the Daytona 500 (NASCARMedia.com photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images).
When 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR in October 2024, Jordan disappeared from being mentioned on the league’s official website and its voluminous digital and social media content.
Despite having a transcendent personality during an era of trying to rebuild a fan base that was eroded, NASCAR was unable to leverage Jordan’s immense popularity while the contentious litigation was pending.
That ended in December along with a bitter and acrimonious trial that lasted barely a week in a Charlotte, North Carolina, courthouse. The lawsuit was resolved with both sides making peace in a settlement hailed as NASCAR fans being gifted with getting their sport back.
It’s turned out they were getting even much more than that with Jordan now firmly in the spotlight this year.
Starting with Reddick’s breathtaking last-lap pass to win the season-opening Daytona 500 (the crown jewel of NASCAR), 23XI Racing has been turning heads by taking checkered flags with a cutting-edge approach to Cup racing that has been compared with a Silicon Valley startup.
The “move fast and break things” approach always garners attention, but especially when powered by the multibillion-dollar Jordan Brand, perhaps the most recognizable logo in professional sports.
When its namesake shows up at a sporting event – any sporting event – people pay attention. That’s true even when Jordan is far removed from his legendary NBA success of six championships.
It was 32 years ago when Jordan briefly took Major League Baseball by storm without ever playing an inning in the big leagues (or above Double-A for that matter). Though his skills with a bat and glove paled in comparison to his indomitable will with a basketball, Jordan’s Walter Mitty-esque story brought as much attention to the Chicago White Sox as their 2005 World Series run.
It’s been a similar story for NASCAR this season as 23XI Racing has harnessed the invincibility of the 1996 Chicago Bulls.
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 15: Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 Chumba Casino Toyota, and Michael Jordan, NBA Hall of Famer and co-owner of 23XI Racing lift the Harley J. Earl Trophy in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2026 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Michael Jordan and Tyler Reddick hoist the Harley J. Earl Trophy given to the Daytona 500 winner (NASCARMedia.com photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images).
Since partnering with Hamlin in the 2021 debut of 23XI (the team name combines the numbers of the co-owners), Jordan has been a frequent presence at NASCAR races.
His love of stock-car racing is genuine, stemming from the days of growing up in Wilmington, North Carolina, and attending tracks around the South with his family, which also tuned in religiously to weekly races on TV.
But his on-camera appearances as a Cup power broker were initially minimal as 23XI won only four times in its first three seasons.
The fiercest competitor in the history of professional sports isn’t really interested in talking when his team is losing – a narrative that has changed in 2026.
Jordan did four nationally televised live interviews with Fox during the first three races after being mostly invisible on NASCAR broadcasts last year.
HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 27: Michael Jordan, NBA Hall of Famer and co-owner of 23XI Racing and Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 The Beast Killer Sunrise Toyota, celebrate after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 27, 2024 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Michael Jordan celebrates Tyler Reddick’s win at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2024 (NASCARMedia.com photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images).
After going winless last season, Reddick now leads the Cup standings by a 60-point margin over Ryan Blaney, and Wallace is ranked third. Jordan gives Hamlin all the credit for making the critical personnel moves that quickly built 23XI into a budding powerhouse.
“He’s the mastermind,” Jordan said. “Look, I just put up the money.”
But the six-time NBA MVP has been an active participant in competition and strategy meetings at 23XI’s gleaming $35 million shop near Charlotte. Jordan also has yet to miss a Cup race in 2026, which can be as validating as 23XI’s impressive results.
“I love the fact that he’s so engaged and at the races,” said 2012 Cup champion Brad Keselowski, who also is a team co-owner. “I just can’t emphasize enough how important that is, not just for Michael, but for (NASCAR). It’s a testament to his fortitude for being a part of this sport because, let’s face it, even though he’s won the first three races, he’s lost a lot more as every car owner will.
“It’s not a dig on him. If I’m a guy like him, and I wake up and say, ‘Where do I want to be today?’ I know that I have less than a 10 percent chance of winning (a race). Flying my butt all across the country when I have all the things that Michael has, it’s probably something that takes a minute to emotionally justify. But he does.
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA - SEPTEMBER 01: Michael Jordan, NBA Hall of Famer and co-owner of 23XI Racing looks on during the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on September 01, 2024 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Michael Jordan is a frequent presence in the 23XI pits at Cup races (NASCARMedia.com photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images).
“I’ll give him a lot of respect and credit. He’s made the decision and choice to participate at a high level to be engaged. The fringe benefit for the sport is the brand that he has outside of it, which naturally comes with him. I’m happy for him. I’m genuinely happy that he’s a part of our sport.”
So is Blaney, the Phoenix winner and 2023 Cup champion who has built a relationship with MJ in the vein of the friendly rivalries that Jordan once enjoyed with Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing and other NBA superstars.
After he lost a heartbreaker to Reddick in the October 2024 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Blaney playfully taunted Jordan with trash talk (mimicking the cutthroat and competitive side of Jordan that was revealed by “The Last Dance” documentary).
They shared another lighthearted moment after a Darlington race last year, and Jordan then sent a pair of his famous shoes to Blaney, who giddily discussed wearing them to the racetrack for the first time (naturally, Blaney won that weekend at New Hampshire last September).
“Hey, if your boy didn’t spin out Larson…”
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) April 6, 2025
“Did he spin out Larson?” pic.twitter.com/PFx5f107Ac
“When you have an owner that was the greatest to ever do it in his sport, and he has so much interest in the sport that I’m in, that’s just a positive for racing,” Blaney said. “I think it creates a lot of eyes from people who were maybe a fan of Michael’s when he was playing, or their parents were a fan of Michael’s. Well, now they are watching this because MJ is here.”
And he’s winning.
But even when His Airness doesn’t win, NASCAR still does.
