NASCAR team 23XI Racing, co-owned by Michael Jordan and NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin, in many ways has “become the prototype for how a team should be built in this era of NASCAR,” according to Jordan Bianchi of THE ATHLETIC. Teams in their sixth year of operation “aren’t supposed to win with great regularity or become perennial championship contenders.” But “emboldened by Jordan and Hamlin’s vision, Jordan’s status as a worldwide sports icon, and Hamlin’s knowledge of the sport, 23XI has done just that.” It is the “team many others say they want to be.” 23XI President Steve Lauletta and the team “have ambitions” to build a “brand big enough to generate instantaneous recognition beyond the NASCAR bubble.” Having a “grand plan is one thing, but actually transforming it into a reality is the challenge.” Part of it is “continual on-track success,” but the team is still missing a championship. NASCAR’s marketing, both by the league and its teams, is “not always the most forward-thinking.” As the sport pushes to expand into new markets, 23XI “believes it can be the team NASCAR uses to attract a greater spotlight,” a cause aided by having one of the world’s most famous people as a co-owner. NASCAR’s senior leadership “recognizes the benefit of a Jordan-supported team being in the sport,” along with 23XI’s “efforts to market both itself and the league” (THE ATHLETIC, 9/15).
