{"id":621925,"date":"2026-04-22T21:50:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T21:50:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/621925\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T21:50:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T21:50:15","slug":"denny-hamlin-reacts-to-michael-jordans-viral-kiss-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/621925\/","title":{"rendered":"Denny Hamlin Reacts to Michael Jordan\u2019s Viral Kiss Video"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some things about Michael Jordan<\/a> simply never change. <\/p>\n

The man who once trash-talked opponents into submission on the basketball court has found a new arena for his relentless competitive streak \u2014 and his latest target happens to be his own business partner.<\/p>\n

After the final lap at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, April 19, cameras captured a moment<\/a> that perfectly encapsulated the Jordan mystique.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick celebrated yet another victory, Jordan was spotted walking toward Denny Hamlin \u2014 his co-owner and, on race day, his rival. What happened next was pure Jordan theater.<\/p>\n

He wrapped his hand around Hamlin\u2019s neck and planted a kiss on the side of his head before walking away. No words necessary. The message was clear to anyone who has ever watched Jordan operate: I got you.<\/p>\n

The Setup That Makes It All So Michael Jordan<\/p>\n

To understand why this moment was so delicious for Jordan, you have to understand the dynamic.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hamlin and Jordan jointly own 23XI Racing<\/a>, a team launched ahead of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season. Three full-time Cup drivers compete for the organization: Reddick, Bubba Wallace and Riley Herbst.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s where it gets interesting. Despite co-owning the team, Hamlin continues to drive for rival team Joe Gibbs Racing and plans to race full-time against his own cars through the conclusion of the following season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That means on any given Sunday, Hamlin is both Jordan\u2019s partner and his competition.<\/p>\n

For a man who famously turned everything \u2014 from card games to golf rounds \u2014 into a blood feud, this arrangement is practically a gift.<\/p>\n

A Race That Played Right Into Michael Jordan\u2019s Hands<\/p>\n

At Kansas Speedway<\/a>, Hamlin was dominant. Driving the No. 11, he led for 131 laps \u2014 more than any other driver. With two laps to go, Hamlin was positioned to win. Then a late caution triggered an overtime restart that disrupted his lead.<\/p>\n

Hamlin ultimately crossed the finish line in fourth place. Meanwhile, Reddick \u2014 Jordan and Hamlin\u2019s driver \u2014 overtook Kyle Larson on the final lap to claim victory.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The win would have been Hamlin\u2019s fifth career triumph at the Kansas track. Instead, Reddick earned his fifth win of the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

Jordan couldn\u2019t have scripted it better himself.<\/p>\n

Michael Jordan Pokes Fun at Denny Hamlin<\/p>\n

During an interview with FOX Sports<\/a> after the race, Jordan laid bare the mindset that defined six NBA championships and now fuels his NASCAR ownership.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, I\u2019m racing against Denny. So in essence, I really wanted to beat him because I know we\u2019re going to talk a lot of trash a little bit later.\u201d<\/p>\n

That single quote tells you everything. Jordan doesn\u2019t see himself as a passive team owner watching from the suite. He\u2019s competing. Hamlin isn\u2019t just his business partner \u2014 he\u2019s the guy Jordan wants to beat, personally.<\/p>\n

Denny Hamlin Reveals the Trash Talk That Led to the Moment<\/p>\n

On the April 20 episode of his Actions Detrimental<\/a> podcast, Hamlin pulled back the curtain on the full scope of their rivalry. He acknowledged that the sting of losing was still fresh when Jordan approached him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, I don\u2019t expect him to understand where I\u2019m at in that moment, right,\u201d Hamlin said. \u201cEvery other Reddick win, I\u2019ve been split, happy, sad, happy, sad and it just kind of depends on how my day went.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis one, I was full a hundred percent in my way on this one, you know what I mean. Like the emotions were all on Team 11 on that one for sure,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

But Hamlin also admitted he\u2019d set the stage for Jordan\u2019s glee by talking trash before the race even started.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told him the same thing I said on this podcast last week, that if something weird doesn\u2019t happen, Kansas is a guaranteed win,\u201d Hamlin explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s very happy because of how much [expletive] I talk to him, actually. I know it\u2019s hard to believe, but I talk a lot of trash to him,\u201d he continued. \u201cHe probably wants to beat me as much as anyone. \u2026 When it\u2019s head-to-head, he wants to see the 23XI drivers beat me because I talk that trash.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Competitive Spirit Lives On<\/p>\n

The basketball court, the golf course, a NASCAR track \u2014 the venue changes, but the instinct never does.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jordan\u2019s kiss at Kansas Speedway was just the latest proof that his need to compete, to win and to let everyone know about it remains as fierce as ever.<\/p>\n

The friendly banter won\u2019t be stopping anytime soon. For fans who grew up watching Jordan turn rivalry into an art form, that\u2019s exactly the point.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some things about Michael Jordan simply never change. The man who once trash-talked opponents into submission on the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":621926,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":["post-621925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=621925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621925\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/621926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=621925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=621925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=621925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}