With NASCAR Streak, Michael Jordan’s Still Winning Pro Sports

He may have turned 63 a few weeks ago, but Michael Jordan can’t stop his winning ways in professional sports — just not the sport you think.

Now in his sixth year as co-owner of a NASCAR team, Jordan’s 23XI Racing has swept the first three races of the 2026 season. (The team’s name refers to Jordan’s famous No. 23 jersey and co-owner Denny Hamlin, who drives the No. 11 Toyota.) Driver Tyler Reddick won not just the “Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing” in the Daytona 500 but the subsequent two races as well. A three-race winning streak to start the season is unprecedented in NASCAR history. And Michael Jordan being involved with a “three-peat” — imagine that.

Impressive Start

Reddick won the first two races on superspeedways, where cars bunch up in large packs, often resulting in major wrecks. That dynamic means winning the Daytona 500 can become a bit of a crapshoot, with the outcome dependent as much on luck as car performance and racing skill.

But this past Sunday, Reddick won on the road course at the Circuit of the Americas near Austin. He out-dueled Australian racer Shane van Gisbergen, who had won five consecutive road course races — also a NASCAR record. In other words, to win his third consecutive race to start 2026, Reddick beat NASCAR’s best road course racer at his own game. Not bad for someone who didn’t win a single race during the 2025 season.

Heartwarming Comeback

The new season represents an amazing turnaround for both 23XI Racing and Tyler Reddick personally. Reddick’s 2025 campaign saw the driver almost lose something far more precious than a race. At the end of last year, his newborn son Rookie needed surgery to take out a kidney after a tumor caused symptoms of heart failure.

While shuttling back and forth to the hospital to spend time with his struggling child, his racing career was the furthest thing on Reddick’s mind. He didn’t miss a race, but while outside the cockpit, he admitted, “I had no desire, nothing to … put anything into racing. It was when I was home and when my family needed me was where I needed to be.” Now, however, with Rookie recovered from his pediatric procedure and Reddick’s oldest child, Beau, at the track with his father, Reddick can celebrate this season’s victories after last season’s heartbreak. 

So too Jordan himself, after an offseason where his team’s antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR sparked major headlines and ultimately a settlement. Had Jordan’s side lost its suit, his team likely would have dissolved within months, squandering Jordan’s investment. Instead, the settlement resulted in more favorable terms for 23XI Racing, along with the other stock car teams competing at NASCAR’s highest level.

In launching the lawsuit in the fall of 2024, Jordan and his colleagues took a calculated risk. At the time of the settlement in December, Jordan thought it would help both parties “work together and really grow this sport.” Little did he know at the time that his team would start the new season off with unprecedented success, attracting more eyeballs to the sport through the compelling storylines Reddick and 23XI Racing present.

Unbounded Joy

Watching the post-race celebrations in Austin, I was struck by Jordan’s pride and adulation in Reddick’s triumph. Wearing a T-shirt and cargo shorts, the basketball Hall of Famer demurred regarding his own role in the team’s success — “I just put up the money,” he explained — but was no less thrilled to play a part.

Fans have seen Jordan celebrate before, most notably weeping after his Chicago Bulls won their first NBA championship. But those celebrations came from a sense of accomplishment, perhaps even relief, after months and years of competing in the arena. In Austin, Jordan looked like the kind of passionate fan seen at racetracks all over the country.

NASCAR needs more of this Michael Jordan — at the track and away from the track. He can explain his lifelong, genuine passion for racing and, in so doing, bring in new fans who might not have previously followed the sport. Give him a podcast to talk racing — heck, even bring him into the play-by-play booth on occasion. Passion of the kind Jordan has for stock car racing is readily infectious, such that both he and NASCAR should seek every potential avenue they can to transmit that passion to others.

Just a few months ago, Michael Jordan said settling his antitrust lawsuit would provide an opportunity to grow stock car racing. Now, with one of his drivers on a hot streak, he and NASCAR have a huge opportunity sooner than they ever imagined.