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Michael Jordan has a new title to his name, and it has nothing to do with basketball.
On Sunday night in Daytona, his 23XI Racing team won the Daytona 500, with Tyler Reddick driving the No. 45 car to victory in the sport’s biggest race. As the checkered flag fell and the celebration began, Jordan was right there in Victory Lane, hugging his driver and helping hoist the Harley J. Earl Trophy.
Jordan’s 23XI Racing team had just won NASCAR’s biggest event.
Not long ago, that headline would have felt strange. Just months back, Jordan was a lead figure in an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR. His team was at the center of a legal fight that many believed could reshape the sport’s business structure. The case has since been settled, though details remain private.
Now, instead of courtroom tension, there was Victory Lane.
Denny Hamlin, who co owns 23XI Racing with Jordan while still competing as a driver, did not downplay what it means.
“He’s the most popular athlete in the world,” Hamlin said. “And he loves the sport.”
That last part matters. Jordan is not a celebrity investor who showed up for a photo opportunity. He grew up in North Carolina watching the Daytona 500 with his family.
“It was a group event,” Jordan said before the race. “The family sat there and we watched the race. Four hours, five hours, six hours, didn’t matter. We were gonna watch the race.”
For him, being part of Daytona is personal. He described it as a way of reconnecting with home.
Sunday’s win puts Jordan in a new light inside NASCAR. The same owner who recently challenged the league in court is now one of its most visible champions. NASCAR chairman Jim France was in Victory Lane congratulating the team, a moment that signaled a reset in tone.
Hamlin suggested the relationship has shifted.
“It seems like there’s more of a collaborative pull of the rope,” he said, pointing to recent meetings between team owners and NASCAR executives. The goal, he added, is to grow the sport together.
Jordan echoed that sentiment, saying the biggest takeaway from the recent conflict was the need for better communication.
“We both needed to have a conversation about change and how we can grow this sport,” he said. “Coming out of that, we have a much better appreciation of each other.”
As for the race itself, Jordan admitted he was still processing it.
“I can’t even believe it,” he said. “You never know how these races are gonna end. You just try to survive.”
Tyler Reddick will go down in the record books as the 2026 Daytona 500 champion. But the image of Michael Jordan celebrating in Victory Lane may linger just as long.
And in a sport always looking for bigger moments and broader audiences, that image carries weight.
