Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing entered the season with momentum after resolving a federal antitrust lawsuit with NASCAR. As the NBA legend is back in the spotlight, Chase Elliott mentioned how Jordan's actions brought about a change to the sport.

"It is a great thing for us as an industry to have somebody like MJ be involved," Elliott said on the April 15th episode of the Outta Pocket with RGIII podcast. "To me, the coolest part about him, his genuine joy that he gets from racing, is so childlike, I love it. I also think it's a little bit of a competitive thing for him. He's a super competitor, and he wants to win."

Jordan's competitiveness, as mentioned by Elliott, indeed took centre stage. In 2020, Michael Jordan started 23XI Racing with Denny Hamlin and became a NASCAR team owner. By supporting Bubba Wallace, the only full-time Black driver at the time, he helped bring more visibility and opportunity to the sport.

This competitive attitude was accepted by Jordan himself.

 "I’m cursed with this competitive gene that anything that I do is from a competitive lens, you know? And in some ways, that keeps me young," said Jordan in one of the interviews with CBS Mornings.

And it did reflect in the team's performance.

Driving for 23XI Racing, Tyler Reddick finished sixth. He came short and missed his chance to become the first Cup Series driver to win the season’s opening four races.

But Reddick secured his 11th career win and his second at Circuit of the Americas, a track originally built for Formula 1.

With this, the Hendrick Motorsports driver mentioned how Jordan's presence also put a huge impetus on 23XI Racing's performance in 2026.

"I think our sport needs that," Elliott added. "The biggest thing that works for Michael being involved is that he is being true to himself by being a part of our sport because he loves it that much."

Jordan had picked up an interest in racing because of his late father, James, who was a "die-hard mechanic." His passion, paired with his refusal to give up, helped him to land a settlement in an antitrust case.

Michael Jordan’s Struggle to Win an Antitrust Case

Back in December 2025, Jordan felt that the business model of America’s top motorsports was fundamentally imbalanced. What was his argument? According to him, NASCAR was not operating fairly.

That's because it controls guaranteed race spots, earnings, and where events are held. All these factors are so vital that they can make or break a team.

Jordan argues that teams are pouring in huge funds without getting stability in return. For instance, he himself invested $40 million into 23XI Racing. Yet, NASCAR still decides each year whether its team is guaranteed a spot on the grid.

As part of the settlement, NASCAR agreed to “evergreen” charters. It means they will not need regular renewal. Earlier, these charters, giving teams race spots and a share of revenue, had to be renegotiated.

"I was aggressively going to win. You know, I became a competitor all over again," said Jordan on how he kept pushing himself during the lawsuit.

Coming from the NBA, that's how Michael Jordan has become an icon in NASCAR.

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Read more at RFK Racing Digest.

Written by

Sabyasachi Biswas

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar