The argument will go on until the end of time, but it’s only because we as a society are bored or cannot help ourselves from arguing. Michael Jordan is the greatest of all time. At basketball, business, or trash talk – it doesn’t matter. Whenever his name comes up in conversation, it always ends with GOAT. A six-time NBA champion, Jordan added yet another championship to his illustrious resume on Sunday.
Outside of basketball, Jordan has numerous other hobbies and interests. Among countless wide-ranging activities, such as golf and deep-sea fishing, he has always had a deep-rooted passion for auto racing. Specifically, Jordan was into NASCAR, so much so that he bought and started a team.
Partnering with current NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry, Jordan co-created 23XI Racing in 2020, entering their first race in 2021. Although Hamlin drives for Gibbs, another team, they and 23XI have a technical alliance through Toyota.
It’s hard to believe Jordan will turn 63 on Tuesday. His drivers wasted no time in getting the party started by winning NASCAR’s biggest event of the calendar.
Michael Jordan calls his NASCAR team’s Daytona 500 win a “championship.”
Unique to many other sports, NASCAR starts its season with its biggest race of the year, the Daytona 500. Although not an event that directly determines the champion, the race is widely considered the “Super Bowl” of the season. It is the sport’s most prestigious race that Michael Jordan can now say he has conquered. And, yes, you do get a ring for winning the 500.
Piloting 23XI’s #45, Tyler Reddick made an unbelievable move in an eventful final lap of the Daytona 500 that sent cars in all sorts of directions. Thanks to a massive push from his 23XI teammate, Riley Herbst, in the #35, Reddick crossed the finish line first. His ninth win in NASCAR’s top series will go down as the biggest of both his career and 23XI’s short history. Bubba Wallace, driver of the 23XI #23 car, finished 10th.
Michael Jordan never lost an NBA Finals, and he is responsible for the most famous shoe brand in history. He has now won the biggest race available to win in NASCAR as an owner and can call himself a Daytona 500 champion. The GOAT conversation is officially over. He is him.
Cover Image Attribution: Zach Catanzareti Photo, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. No edits or changes were made.