“It makes it easier after bad weeks to show back up,” Bubba Wallace on Michael Jordan’s value at 23XI

The easiest way to write about Michael Jordan in NASCAR is to stop at the obvious, i.e., the famous owner, the No. 23, the cameras waiting when 23XI Racing wins. However, Bubba Wallace’s version of the narrative is more impactful than that. Recently, he talked about the weeks when the car is quick enough to matter and the finish still leaves a mark.

That is where Wallace placed Jordan in his latest comments. He portrayed the former NBA champion as an owner who understands the demand of elite competition and the routine of coming back after a result that does not match the speed.

That distinction sounds differently now than it would have a few years ago. 23XI is no longer a one-car startup built around promise. It entered 2026 with Wallace, Tyler Reddick and Riley Herbst in a three-driver Cup lineup, operating out of its Airspeed headquarters in Huntersville, North Carolina, with the scale of a team that expects to contend.

Wallace had opened 2026 with solid speed and points production; four top-10s in eight races, stage points, laps led at Daytona and Atlanta. But he also had two major setbacks at Darlington and Martinsville. At the same time, Reddick had already won four of the first six races. So Wallace was speaking from inside a fast, high-expectation organization where results were uneven for him personally while the team around him was winning big.

1. Michael Jordan’s Unwavering Support Is Bubba Wallace’s Edge in NASCAR’s Toughest Races

Wallace did not describe Jordan as a competition director or a Sunday-morning setup voice. He described him as someone who understands how unforgiving high-level sport can be and how quickly the calendar forces a driver back into the car. Wallace said, “To have them in your corner, I don’t know if you could ask for a better person. You know, he’s done a lot. It’s only been, it’s been going on six years now, which is wild. And I think there’s a lot left on the table for us to go and grab.” “So, I really, you know, I appreciate the opportunity and I appreciate having everything, you know, readily accessible for me to go out and be competitive. And having somebody like him that understands what it’s like to be competitive to start, but also understands the nature of the sport and how tough it is,” he kept going.

2. Bubba Wallace’s Defining Role in the Rise of Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing Empire

23XI launched with Wallace in 2021, and his Talladega victory that fall gave both driver and team their first Cup win. NASCAR still frames that day as a landmark in Wallace’s career and in the organization’s brief history. He has added two more wins since then, including the Brickyard 400 in July 2025, the biggest victory of his Cup career. NASCAR’s driver page lists Indianapolis as his most recent win and his first crown-jewel triumph. 2025 was Wallace’s second playoff season, which matters here because it marked something more substantial than a single breakthrough afternoon. By then, he was helping define what success for 23XI had to look like. That standing has not changed just because the team expanded. Reddick has become one of the fastest drivers in the series. Herbst joined the full-time lineup for 2026. Corey Heim remains part of the developmental picture. Wallace still carries the original number, the original signing and much of the original meaning.

3. Why Tyler Reddick’s Wins Are Fueling Bubba Wallace’s Competitive Fire at 23XI

Wallace’s start has been good enough to matter and uneven enough to leave work to do. Through eight races, NASCAR’s standings page had him eighth in points with four top-10 finishes and no wins. The Daytona 500 was the right snapshot. Wallace led laps and finished 10th. Reddick won the race, giving 23XI the biggest result in team history. Wallace’s day was good, useful, competitive, and still secondary inside his own shop. Reddick’s start pushed 23XI from promising to urgent, and Wallace has had to race inside that higher standard from the opening month. Reddick opened 2026 by winning the first three Cup races of the season, including the Daytona 500. That kind of run changes the internal temperature of a team immediately. It tightens the comparison points. For Wallace, that means every solid day gets measured against what is happening in the next stall. Charles Denike took over as Wallace’s crew chief for 2025, replacing Bootie Barker after a successful run in the Truck Series. NASCAR presented the move as the start of a new chapter for Wallace and 23XI, one built around stronger structure and higher expectations. Wallace’s own description of Denike was telling. He said Denike was “very attentive to every little detail.” Jordan’s value, in Wallace’s telling, fits directly into that world. Not comfort. Not image. Backing, expectation and the kind of competitive memory that knows a bad Sunday cannot be allowed to sit in the car with you the following week.

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• Bubba Wallace
• Michael Jordan