Michael Jordan was the epitome of an NBA athlete who didn’t like to lose. His business partner and 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin, who is currently second in the NASCAR Cup Series championship, doesn’t like to lose either.

Despite Hamlin co-owning 23XI, but driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, the duo has built a unique but solid relationship that goes beyond business. Last weekend, Hamlin had a heartbreak at Kansas, where the Joe Gibbs Racing driver ended up fourth in overtime despite leading 131 laps of the race.

A post-race clip of Jordan finding Hamlin in the pits and playfully grabbing his neck and tapping him on his head went viral on social media. While MJ seemed to enjoy the moment, Hamlin didn't seem enthused. When Denny Hamlin was asked about that moment on his "Actions Detrimental" podcast, he shared details about their friendly rivalry.

"I told him, you know, on Friday, Saturday, same thing I was saying on the podcast: 'If something weird doesn’t happen, it’s a guaranteed win,'" said Hamlin.

Hamlin and Jordan hung out on Saturday with Ryan Blaney and a few more drivers. Describing their banter over the weekend, Hamlin said:

"Michael said, 'I'm worried about the eleven. Denny says he’s gonna win.' I was telling him all weekend that we were gonna win. He’s very happy because of how much s*** I talked to him, actually. I know it’s hard to believe, but I talk a lot of trash to him. When it's head-to-head, he wants to see the 23XI drivers beat me, you know, because I talk that trash."

Denny Hamlin on 23XI’s Kansas performance 

While Denny Hamlin was disappointed about his result at Kansas, he found 23XI's overall performance to be decent. When asked if it was 23XI's greatest finish yet, with all four drivers in the Top 15, Hamlin disagreed.

The three-time Daytona 500 winner said the expectations need to be higher. "We don’t celebrate top 15s," said Hamlin. "What are you talking? Nah, if it was like 1-2 finish, yeah, that's a great team day. Let me not understate, they all ran very well."

However, what impressed Hamlin was Tyler Reddick taking his fifth victory of the season in nine races for 23XI. Moreover, he also highlighted how Reddick has done that despite only leading 189 laps so far.

Reddick leads the championship by 105 points over Hamlin in second.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Yask Kotak