Denny Hamlin, Michael Jordan partner on NASCAR team for Bubba Wallace
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Denny Hamlin has joined Charlotte Hornets
owner Michael Jordan to form a NASCAR team with Bubba Wallace as the
driver, a high-profile pairing of a Black majority team owner and the
only Black driver at NASCAR’s top level.
The partnership was
announced Monday night in coordinated social media posts by Jordan and
Hamlin, with Wallace adding his own comment. The posts showed a picture
of Jordan alongside a firesuit-clad Hamlin in a motorhome at a race
track.
“Historically, NASCAR has struggled with diversity
and there have been few Black owners,” Jordan said in his statement.
“The timing seemed perfect as NASCAR is evolving and embracing social
change more and more.”
Jordan becomes the first Black principal
owner of a full-time Cup team since Hall of Famer Wendell Scott drove
his own race car in 495 races from 1961 to 1973. Scott’s 1964 victory at
the Jacksonville 200 is the only win by a Black driver in Cup history.
The
NBA great, who earlier this year pledged $100 million over 10 years for
initiatives combating systemic racism, said the move into NASCAR is
another step toward racial equality.
“I see this as a chance to educate a new audience and open more opportunities for Black people in racing,” Jordan said.
Jordan
joins former NBA player Brad Daugherty, a partner at JTG Daugherty
Racing, as the only Black owners at NASCAR’s elite Cup level.
“Michael and Bubba can be a powerful voice together, not only in our sport, but also well beyond it,” Hamlin said.
Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner and a top contender for this year’s Cup title, will be part of
a single-car Toyota entry aligned with Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin has
raced his entire career for Gibbs, a Hall of Fame NFL coach.
“Eleven
years ago I met Michael Jordan at a then-Charlotte Bobcats game and we
became fast friends,” Hamlin wrote. “Not long after, I joined Jordan
Brand as their first NASCAR athlete. Our friendship has grown over the
years and now we are ready to take it to the next level.
“Deciding on the driver was easy — it had to be Bubba Wallace.”
Wallace
is the only Black driver in the Cup Series and this season used his
platform to push for racial equality. The 27-year-old successfully urged
NASCAR to ban the display of the Confederate flag at its events.
Wallace
is winless in 105 Cup starts over four seasons, but he has six career
victories in the Truck Series. He’s been hampered by mid-level equipment
driving the No. 43 for Hall of Famer Richard Petty and, until this
summer, the team struggled to land sponsorship.
“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. “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.”
There’s been
speculation for months that Hamlin was organizing some sort of ownership
group as he expects NASCAR’s business model to become more favorable
for team owners when the “Next Gen” car is released in 2022. NASCAR
rules prohibit a current driver from owning a team and driving for
another, but Hamlin works around the policy with Jordan as the principal
owner.
“Starting a race team has been something that Michael and
I have talked about while playing golf together over the years, but the
timing or circumstances were never really right,” Hamlin said. “It just
makes sense now to lay the foundation for my racing career after I’m
done driving and also help an up-and-coming driver like Bubba take his
career to a higher level.”
In a statement, NASCAR welcomed Jordan to the series.
“His
presence at NASCAR’s top level will further strengthen the competition,
excitement and momentum growing around our sport,” NASCAR said.
Jordan
became a partial owner of the Bobcats in 2006 and bought the team
outright in 2010, restoring the franchise to its original Hornets name.
Hamlin has been a longtime season-ticket holder with courtside seats
along the visitors’ bench.
Jordan dabbled in racing before with
Michael Jordan Motorsports. He owned an AMA Superbike team and had one
win in 10 years. Jordan has twice traveled to the NASCAR season finale
to watch Hamlin race for the championship. Hamlin, who’s 39, is still
seeking his first title.
“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. “The opportunity to own my own
race team in partnership with my friend, Denny Hamlin, and to have Bubba
Wallace driving for us, is very exciting for me.”
Wallace, who
has cobbled together about $18 million in sponsorship deals since he
made racial equality his platform, had already announced he was parting
with Petty.
“This is a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
that I believe is a great fit for me at this point in my career,”
Wallace wrote. “I am grateful and humbled that they believe in me and
I’m super pumped to begin this adventure with them.”
Jordan and
Hamlin purchased a charter for their team from Germain Racing that
guarantees Wallace a spot in the 40-car field every week.