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Denny Hamlin breaks down the extent of Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing’s investment in NASCAR

Originally posted on FirstSportz | By Geetansh Pasricha | Last updated 4/10/24

Denny Hamlin has been soaring the headlines recently with the beef he has been indulged in with SMI’s Marcus Smith. The pair traded anger-charged comments on each other through X, and the situation has resorted to a stalemate somewhat. Subsequently, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has expressed his frustration and revealed the extent of the money that has been pouring into the 23XI project, which is co-owned by him and Michael Jordan .

The feud between Denny Hamlin and SMI boss Marcus Smith began when the former shared a post on his X handle depicting the state of the track at Sonoma and criticizing Smith for the subpar maintenance. This complaint by Hamlin then further escalated to a full blowout between the two. Subsequently, in his podcast, the 43-year-old explained the blood and soul he has put into the sport and how companies like SMI are not doing their job properly and not re-investing enough compared to how much they receve.

23XI co-owner claimed that he would have invested more in NASCAR over four years than Speedway Motorsports Inc. has invested in the past decade. Moreover, he expressed frustration over the fact that track owners get double what team owners get at a weekend. This made Hamlin furious, and they wanted NASCAR to intervene and regulate the matter before the situation worsened even more.

I know personally how much that I've invested in 23XI. I would venture to guarantee you that 23XI has invested more in the sport than SMI has invested in the last ten years. And we have done it in four years. Just this one team has invested more in the sport. So, there's a problem there, especially when we get roughly half of what they get on any given weekend. Denny Hamlin said in the Actions Detrimental podcast

Denny Hamlin gives his verdict on extra practice sessions debate

In a recent interview, Brad Keselowski, RFK racing co-owner and driver, claimed that reduced practice runs have not helped reduce operational costs. Moreover, he stated that practice runs should be increased back to normal without changing the format. However, Hamlin has been critical of his compatriot’s ideas and advised NASCAR to stay away from it.

The JGR driver and 23XI co-owner lashed out at Keselowski about his ability to run a team. He even claimed that the latter seems like to have never been at the helm of a team and does not know how to manage finances in a racing corporation.

I heard Brad[Keselowski], it bugs me a little bit that Brad's like 'We just need to have more practice, it's not gonna cost us any more.' That's not true, that sounds like someone that's never had to make a cash call before with his race team. Denny Hamlin said.

Despite such claims, there seems to be no chance of a format change yet as of now. However, with increasing pressure from the racing veteran, a change in revenue split may be on the cards for the team owner.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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