Michael Jordan's jump into NASCAR continues to have people talking, especially after Thursday's announcement that he and Denny Hamlin's team name will be 23XI Racing. Bubba Wallace will be behind the wheel for the team's No. 23 car, and ESPN Radio's Jordan Cornette said Wallace is "single-handedly driving a new wave of fans to the sport with how he’s carried himself, how he’s been a voice in a sport that so badly needs one." He added, "I also love seeing 23 out there playing for championships. Any sport that you put a 23 on, your eyes automatically go to that car. Bubba Wallace, all the energy and attention should go to that guy. This a perfect marriage.” Cornette said Jordan “spent his entire playing career skirting away from social issues, leaning into them now and aligning himself with a guy that means so much to a movement” (“Chiney & Golic Jr.,” ESPN Radio, 10/22). FS1’s Michael Waltrip said, "When I talk to Michael (Jordan) about racing, he just lights up. He loves everything about our sport." FS1’s Bobby Labonte said it is “exciting to see what these guys are doing already, they’re putting things together and it's good to see these announcements come out” (“NASCAR Race Hub,” FS1, 10/22).
NOD TO THE PAST: In Charlotte, Alex Andrejev notes the 23XI Racing team on Thursday also revealed their logo, which "features the name spelled out using the colors red, black and white." A team manufacturer has "not yet been announced, but a partnership with Toyota and an alliance with Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing team is expected." The 23XI Racing name is pronounced “twenty-three eleven," a nod to the number Jordan wore through most of his basketball career and the number Hamlin has driven for over a decade (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 10/23).
