Denny Hamlin is a guy who wears a lot of hats: that of a NASCAR driver, racing for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series; as a father to two daughters; and as a NASCAR team owner, specifically a co-owner of 23XI Racing alongside NBA legend Michael Jordan and Curtis Polk since 2020. And ever since he put on the team owner hat, Hamlin’s become pretty skilled at doing a high-speed hat dance. He’s met with the media as a winning driver, and he’s stood in as a team owner when one of 23XI Racing’s drivers clinched a victory.
It’s mostly been champagne showers and smiles, congrats, and trophies. But then last week rolled around, and 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports—NASCAR’s last two Charter agreement holdouts—filed an anti-trust lawsuit against NASCAR and CEO Jim France. They allege that NASCAR’s leadership has been using “anti-competitive practices to prevent fair competition in the sport.”
“Everyone knows that I have always been a fierce competitor, and that will to win is what drives me and the entire 23XI team each and every week out on the track,” Jordan, who is arguably one of the greatest players in any professional sport, said. “I love the sport of racing and the passion of our fans, but the way NASCAR is run today is unfair to teams, drivers, sponsors, and fans. Today’s action shows I’m willing to fight for a competitive market where everyone wins.”
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