Denny Hamlin has a 'perfect partnership' with Michael Jordan at 23XI Racing

Michael Jordan is no stranger to three-peats. 

The NBA legend led the Chicago Bulls to a pair of NBA Finals three-peats in the 1990s. On Sunday, Jordan's NASCAR Cup Series team, 23XI Racing, completed a three-peat of its own. 

Driver Tyler Reddick won Sunday's race at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, becoming the first driver to ever win the first three races of a season. Through three races, Reddick and 23XI teammate Bubba Wallace are 1-2 in the standings. 

As it turns out, Michael Jordan, the car owner, is pretty darn good, too.

Jordan co-owns 23XI with Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin, who will one day be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Hamlin says the partnership between himself and Jordan is a match made in heaven.

Denny Hamlin on partnership with Michael Jordan

"It’s just a perfect partnership," Hamlin said after Sunday's race. "I don’t even know how to explain it. This doesn’t work unless he gives me autonomy to do it."

When I started kicking around, trying to find a race team that would let me buy in, none of them were going to give me the control that I wanted. I don’t know what the word is for that, but I wanted to make sure if it failed, it was because of something I did, not someone else."

But 23XI hasn't failed. In fact, it's turned into a weekly contender for wins and is far and away the 2026 NASCAR championship favorite early in the season.

"When the stars aligned and we were able to start this and I was able to get him as a partner, he was — I was just so appreciative of the fact that he says, okay, here’s my percent, here’s your percent, but you’re going to have to build it," Hamlin said. "You’re going to have to do the work. You’re the boots on the ground. That was what I wanted. Where I get the gratification is from building something from scratch."

How long Jordan and Hamlin can keep up their current run of success is yet to be seen, but 23XI is certainly in NASCAR to stay. 

And Jordan, who has all the accolades anyone in the sports world could dream of, will be in Avondale, Arizona, on March 8 to watch Reddick try and break his own record by winning a fourth race to open the 2026 NASCAR season.

Quotes provided by NASCAR Media.