23XI Racing

23XI Racing (pronounced twenty-three eleven) is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. It is owned and operated by Hall of Fame basketball player Michael Jordan, with current Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin as a minority partner. The team fields the No. 23 Toyota for driver Bubba Wallace, with a technical alliance with JGR.
History.
During the summer of 2020, rumors swirled that basketball player Michael Jordan intended on purchasing an ownership stake in Richard Petty Motorsports, who fielded the only black driver in the NASCAR Cup Series, Bubba Wallace. Such claims were repeatedly denied by Jordan's management team.
Car No. 23 history.
Bubba Wallace (2021).
On September 21, 2020, Jordan and Denny Hamlin announced the formation of a Cup team to begin competition in 2021 with Jordan as majority owner, Hamlin as minority owner and Wallace as the driver. The team bought a guaranteed starting spot in every 2021 race by purchasing a charter from Germain Racing. The team's name, car number and manufacturer were not revealed at the time of the announcement. Hamlin later said that the two had discussed owning a team but that it never came to fruition. On October 22, the team announced its name, 23XI Racing, and would use the number 23 (Jordan's number during his basketball career). On October 30, the team revealed that they will run Toyotas with a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing (whose No. 11 car is driven by Hamlin) and operate out of a shop owned (and formerly used by) Germain Racing. On December 14, 23XI Racing announced that DoorDash, McDonald's, Columbia Sportswear, Dr Pepper, and Root, Inc. will be the sponsors of the No. 23 team in 2021. It was also announced that several crew members of the former Germain operation would join the team as a pit crew. On February 3, it was announced that former Germain driver Ty Dillon (who attempted to make the Daytona 500 with fellow Toyota team Gaunt Brothers Racing) would run the car in the 2021 Busch Clash, as Wallace was not eligible to run the clash.
Wallace finished 2nd in his Duel, and finished 17th in the Daytona 500, after being involved in a last lap crash. At the Daytona road course he had troubles all day and finished 26th.
Wallace struggled out the gate until Phoenix, which was his first strong run of the season. Wallace was running top 15 for most of the day before working his way into the top 10. Following a caution and most of the field pitting, while Wallace stayed out, he restarted first. This move did not work out well for Wallace. Due to him being on old tires and the rest of the field being on new tires, Wallace was quickly cycled out of the first position, dropped back, and wound up making contact with Cole Custer. He ended up finishing 16th.
In the Geico 500 at Talladega, Wallace had a strong car the entire day. Wallace was running top 10 for a good portion of the day, and ended up winning stage 2. This was Wallace's first career stage win. After an overtime restart, Wallace was cycled to the back of the pack, and wound up finishing 19th.