By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (AP) — There’s a sign that hangs on a wall in Airspeed, the headquarters of 23XI Racing, that clearly states the vision of the NASCAR team owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin.
“To be the world’s most recognizable motorsports team, winning on and off the track, moving forward together, and setting the standard for excellence,” it reads.
Any questions about how 23XI would emerge from December’s federal antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR have been immediately silenced at the start of the new year.
Tyler Reddick won the season-opening Daytona 500 and last weekend’s race at Atlanta to open 2 for 2, while teammate Bubba Wallace led a combined 86 laps in the two events and easily could have been the winner.
Reddick and Wallace head to Circuit of the Americas road course in Texas for this Sunday’s race ranked 1-2 in the Cup Series points standings.
It’s made for a festive atmosphere at Airspeed, a 114,000-square-foot headquarters where personal touches like the 45 pairs of Air Jordan sneakers arranged to form a No. 23 wall display make it one of the coolest teams to work for in motorsports.
“All we’ve been doing since the season started is eating, drinking and celebrating,” 23XI President Steve Lauletta told the 100-plus employees this week during a luncheon to celebrate Reddick’s Daytona 500 win.
The 23XI culture
Jordan, the Pro Basketball Hall of Famer, and Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner, have created a culture inside 23XI designed to build a championship-winning organization that will be the go-to destination for aspiring drivers, engineers, mechanics and anyone who wants to work in NASCAR.
A victory flag flapped in the wind outside Airspeed, where wins are celebrated with a pizza party when the team plane returns. Then comes company-wide celebratory luncheons, and an end-of-day shot of Jordan-owned Cincoro Tequila.
Employees get preloaded cards each month to use in the vending machines, have access to a state-of-the-art gym equipped with a sauna, hot and cold tubs and a physical therapist, and work in a building many legacy NASCAR teams only dream of owning.
Employees are all given pairs of Jordan’s namesake sneakers and the pit crews for the 23XI teams debuted a custom shoe at the Daytona 500.
All this for a team that was only conceived in 2020, launched in 2021, and now ranks among the top in NASCAR with the likes of Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske.
“There’s no question that we’re building fast cars and cars that are capable of winning week in, week out. We don’t always hit the setup or things like that, but we’re working hard,” said Hamlin. “This team being nonexistent six years ago is just amazing that we’re able to do what we did with building this thing from scratch and now having the results week in, week out that is contending with the big guys.”
No quit despite legal fight
23XI has reached the top despite a two-plus year Jordan-led fight against NASCAR over revenue sharing. The legal battle put a strain on 23XI, which raced unchartered all of last season and won just once — Wallace’s win at the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway — as employees worried a courtroom defeat would put the team out of business.
NASCAR settled the suit on the ninth day of the trial — a win for all the teams, but especially plaintiffs 23XI and Front Row Motorsports — and 23XI never missed a beat. Lauletta said part of the early 2026 success is because Jordan and Hamlin promised to pay employees through 2026 regardless of the lawsuit outcome. That vow put the company at ease as everyone focused on their jobs.
“The guys worked hard all summer. I know we had our little ordeal, but they never gave up,” Jordan said after Reddick’s win at Atlanta. “They kept working hard, and this is the fruit of their labor. You know, they put forth the effort, and for us to come out and win the first two races says a lot about our whole team.”
Reaching new heights
As 23XI attempts to become an industry leader, the organization has been thinking outside the box in marketing and partnership opportunities. San Diego State University wears Jordan brand and 23XI partnered with the basketball team the night before the Daytona 500 for a game against the University of Nevada.
Recorded messages from 23XI’s drivers played on the big screen, a race car was displayed outside the arena, and branded rally towels were distributed. On race day, 23XI and Toyota hosted a watch party at a sports bar on Coronado Island, where NASCAR will race for the first time later this year.
“We want people to go ‘That’s my team!’” Lauletta said. “We had our partners there giving away prizes and then we won the race. That’s the stuff that helps differentiate us and helps these casual sports fan who know who Michael is now know who our team is. We won the race and the place went wild.”
In Las Vegas in two weeks a replica of the Jumpman-branded car that Kurt Busch drove to victory in 2022 will be on Reddick’s car to celebrate Busch’s recent induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The car features the Jumpman logo on the hood and a black cement elephant print inspired by the Air Jordan III sneaker.
It makes 23XI stand out while displaying the passion that Jordan, a lifelong NASCAR fan, has for the sport.
“His passion for this sport is just unreal and it’s so fun to be around,” Lauletta said. “In getting 23XI going, the most pleasantly surprising thing is his love for the sport. It is as genuine as genuine gets. And knowing now that we are in this for a very long time, it makes us all realize the potential for this team is limitless. This is his competitive outlet now and he’s all-in.”