Basketball legend Michael Jordan was all smiles on Sunday as his NASCAR team scored a massive win at the Daytona 500.
Tyler Reddick led Jordan’s 23XI Racing team to victory despite trailing two other vehicles at the beginning of the final lap. His ability to safely and quickly navigate through a wreck on the track put him in first in the very last moments of the race, and Jordan couldn’t have been more proud.
“I can’t even believe it. It was so gratifying… I’m ecstatic. I don’t even know what to say,” he gushed to Jamie Little of Fox Sports.
Michael Jordan was TOO HYPE after his NASCAR team won the Daytona 500 😭🔥
(Via @NASCARONFOX)pic.twitter.com/QPUIOwo9l0
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 15, 2026
Three other members of the team, Bubba Wallace, Riley Herbst, and Corey Heim, received praise from Jordan for their finishes. This victory adds another ring to the extensive collection that Jordan earned while playing for the Chicago Bulls.
The celebration comes just two months after an antitrust lawsuit between NASCAR and Jordan was settled.
“Jordan says Nascar isn’t playing fair with a system that determines who gets guaranteed entry into races, how much money they make and even the tracks where the races are held – a system so central to team survival that it can make or break an entire organization,” explained an article by The Guardian.
The “charter” system was at the center of the contention between the parties, with the outlet explaining a “charter” as “a golden ticket that guarantees your team can race each week” with only a set number existing. “Teams bought them years ago for a few million dollars and their value skyrocketed into to the tens of millions because they essentially secure your place in the sport. The most recent sale went for about $45m,” they added.
However, The Guardian explained, these “charters” also have expiration dates and NASCAR decides the terms of renewal, which Jordan took issue with.
Prior to Sunday’s race, Jordan expressed optimism about the future.
“Communication — the thing is, both sides have been somewhat at a stalemate and we both needed to have conversations about change, how we can grow this sport,” he said to Fox Sports. “Unfortunately, we had to go through what we had to go through last summer. But I think coming out of that, you have a much better appreciation for each other and I think it opens up conversations amongst each other to continue to grow the game.”
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Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to write. Marlee also contributes to BizPac Review.
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