The MBA legend is no equally legendary when it comes to his love of gambling with an unmistakable preference for sports. MJ has been spotted at horseracing courses, so he must have a strong interest in the best horses to watch when a race is approaching. Yet, he chose cars when he felt the time was right to get into racing as an entrepreneur. Jordan thus became the first Black principal owner of a full-time Cup team since Hall of Famer Wendell Scott in 1973 with Bubba Wallace as the driver.
The new team’s debut was at Daytona International Speedway in the Daytona 500 and it was disappointing. The No. 23 Toyota Camry failed pre-race inspection twice and Wallace had to start in the rear of the field. Bubba did manage to improve his position in the second stage and grab the lead on lap 129, but then he lost it to the co-owner of his own firm, two-time defending champion Denny Hamlin. The contradiction of Hamlin’s competing against his own team could be a worse problem than the partners’ thought at first. It might be something to keep an eye on as the season moves on.
A loose wheel in Wallace’s 23XI Toyota was an even worse story. Bubba felt a vibration and was forced to pit with 22 laps left in the race. “Fast car, can’t have loose wheels. Onto the right turns.” he tweeted. In the end, he was caught up in the last-lap wreck and finished 17th, far from the aspirations for a fiery start of the season.
23XI Racing is fully covered for the 2021 season, having secured DoorDash, McDonald’s, Columbia Sportswear, Dr. Pepper, and Root Insurance, but sponsorships cannot fix everything. The constant shortage of sufficient sponsorships in his three seasons with Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM), was always regarded as one of the factors preventing Wallace from developing into his full potential. While at the wheel of the iconic No. 43, he had three top-5’s and nine top-10’s. Bubba cannot be satisfied with those results and he has always made it clear that his ambitions run much higher than that.
The good thing is that his new boss believes in the 27-year old driver. The epidemics prevented them from meeting in person until the day of Daytona 500. After the disappointing result of the race, Jordan gave support to his driver in an interview with Fox Sports.
