Michael Jordan‘s post-NBA passion project has been owning his own NASCAR team, along with former racer Denny Hamlin. The ’23XL Racing’ project has been a success, notching a win earlier this season as well. As a result, the team upgraded their facilities and moved to an expansive new headquarters called ‘Airspeed.’
The team shared a video of Jordan visiting the facility for the first time and being blown away by it. He greets all the people working and tells them that they deserve a nicer place to work after the success they’ve been bringing the team. The HQ also has the ’23 Conference Room,’ dedicated to Jordan with his shoes all over a massive shelf that says 23.
Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin's 23XI Racing just opened their new HQ in North Carolina—Airspeed.
• 114,000 sq. ft.
• Weight room, sauna
• MJ and Hamlin memorabilia
• Conference room with 45 pairs of Jordans
"You keep winning, we keep improving."pic.twitter.com/Rtz9zZiWyz
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) June 4, 2024
The name of the facility pays tribute to the two co-owners, including the iconic ‘Air’ from Jordan’s personal branding and adding speed to reflect the pacey driver Hamlin was during his prime.
This was Jordan’s first visit to the new headquarters, which opened last month. Team co-owner Denny Hamlin has already spoken about how he wants the headquarters to feel as the team gets ready to grow further.
“This is not a race shop. It’s a place that we work, yes, we put cars on the track, but it’s so much more than that. Would you say sitting right here, we’re in a race shop? No, it certainly doesn’t feel that way. So I think what we were in—in Mooresville, in the old Germain (Racing) building—was a race shop and a garage. This is not. This is something that is different, and so it needs to be named appropriately.”
The new facility is incredible and has great details, especially when it comes to numbers. The interior has 23 paint choices exclusively with colors from the Jordan Brand catalog. There’s also an intentional 23-degree tilt of the windows that ring the building and create an airy space.
This is a form of racing nirvana and could facilitate greater growth for the 23XL Racing team, who celebrated a win at the iconic Talladega Speedway earlier this season.
Michael Jordan Is In Love With Racing
For a man who sold the NBA franchise he owned for around $3 billion, Jordan has found a lot of happiness in competing amongst the top NASCAR teams in the country. The 6-time Finals MVP once compared the two sports and made it clear he wants his team to succeed in NASCAR.
“This is like an NBA Playoff game to me. I am so ecstatic for the fans who support the sport itself and we’ve been working hard trying to get ourselves up to where we can compete against all the top guys in this sport.”
The ultra-competitive Jordan has a new avenue to use his competitive spirit in, which he hopes to build an even more successful racing outfit.
“I’m all in. I love it. It replaces a lot of the competitiveness I had in basketball, but this is even worse because I have no control! In basketball, I have total control. So, I live vicariously through the drivers and crew chiefs, and everybody. I am very happy for 23XI, 110%.”
23XL Racing’s two drivers for this season are Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick, with Reddick having won a race already. As the team keeps improving their facilities, they’ll start taking small steps forward and could become one of the top teams in the sport.
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