Michael Jordan Casually Buys NASCAR Team And Signs Bubba Wallace As His First Driver
Source - Basketball legend Michael Jordan has agreed to purchase a NASCAR Cup Series Charter and Bubba Wallace will be the driver for “His Airness” and partner Denny Hamlin when the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season begins.
Jordan, widely considered to be the greatest basketball player of all time and current owner of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets, will be the majority owner of a NASCAR Cup Series team. Wallace, the series’ lone Black driver in the midst of a career-best season, has found a home after announcing earlier this month that he would not return to Richard Petty Motorsports.
Also announced Monday was news that Hamlin would also be a minority owner of the single-car team. Hamlin has long been connected to Jordan through the latter’s Jordan Brand, and the two are close friends.
Why not, right? When you've got as much money as Michael you may as well own a NASCAR team. What else are you gonna do? How many Yachts can you own? How many houses? How many planes? How many vacations can you take before you get bored? It's only natural that he ventured into motorsports. Especially considering he close personal friendship with Denny Hamlin....
Apparently he's also been a fan of the sport for a long time. Here's what he had to say on the purchase...
“Growing up in North Carolina, my parents would take my brothers, sisters and me to races, and I’ve been a NASCAR fan my whole life,” Jordan said in a news release. “The opportunity to own my own racing team in partnership with my friend, Denny Hamlin, and to have Bubba Wallace driving for us, is very exciting for me. Historically, NASCAR has struggled with diversity and there have been few Black owners. The timing seemed perfect as NASCAR is evolving and embracing social change more and more.
For the record, Hamlin will continue to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing, which is where he began his career in 2005, so it'll be interesting to see how he navigates the waters of being both a driver and an owner. I'm surprise there's no conflict of interest, but then again I don't know much about NASCAR so I'm sure it's fine. The deal wouldn't have gone through if it wasn't.
As far as Bubba Wallace goes…he's made 105 career starts for NASCAR and has had five top-10 finishes this year alone. Aka he's at the top of his game and a HUGE get for the Jordan/Hamlin team.
Here's what Denny had to say on his signing…
“Bubba has shown tremendous improvement since joining the Cup Series and we believe he’s ready to take his career to a higher level,” Hamlin said on social media. “He deserves the opportunity to compete for race wins and our team will make sure he has the resources to do just that. Off the track, Bubba has been a loud voice for change in our sport and our country. MJ and I support him fully in those efforts and stand beside him.”
Bubba is excited as well…
Said Wallace: “This is a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I believe is a great fit for me at this point in my career. Both Michael and Denny are great competitors and are focused on building the best team they possibly can to go out and compete for race wins. I’m grateful and humbled that Michael and Denny believe in me and I’m super pumped to begin this adventure with them.”
And that's that for your NASCAR news on a Tuesdey! Congrats to all parties involved. I'm sure it'll be a massive success.