Why NASCAR’s Hamlin, assisted by Michael Jordan, casts large shadow at Kansas Speedway

Denny Hamlin will never forget the feeling of awe as he strapped into his racecar before making his first NASCAR Cup start.

It was Oct. 9, 2005 at Kansas Speedway, and Hamlin was as nervous as a teenager before his first driver’s test.

“It was very intimidating,” he reflected. “I remember going off pit road the very first time thinking, ‘What am I doing racing around Jeff Gordon, Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin?’’’ Hamlin said of drivers he will one day join in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

“I felt like I was in a video game, I didn’t think it was real.”

Hamlin qualified seventh but a flat tire consigned him to a 32nd-place finish in that inaugural start for Joe Gibbs Racing, but he’s been one of the sport’s most accomplished drivers ever since and especially successful at Kansas Speedway.

Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, is one of five drivers to win three Cup races at Kansas, site of Sunday’s Advent Health 400. And he’s passed that success onto 23XI Racing, the team Hamlin co-founded in 2021 with basketball legend Michael Jordan.

A year ago, 23XI Racing swept the two races at Kansas Speedway with wins by Kurt Busch and Bubba Wallace.

Busch ended a personal 32-race winless streak at Kansas by winning the spring race in the No. 45 Toyota, which was in its first year of competition. After Busch was sidelined by what might be a career-ending concussion, Wallace moved from the No. 23 into the No. 45 and won the fall playoff race at Kansas, beating Hamlin to the checkered flag by 1.0 second.

“To see that team grow in its first year was amazing, and I still don’t think we appreciated it enough in the industry of how hard that is to do,” Hamlin said. “I’m glad we were able to do that for Kurt, for that to be his final win in a Cup car as a full-time driver, that’s special, especially the first race with the Jordan Brand on his car, it was proud moment for sure.”

The win by Wallace was his second career victory, coming a year after winning the rain-shortened 2021 event at Talladega for 23XI.

“That car was in the playoffs,” Hamlin said of Wallace’s win in the No. 45, “so it was such a huge deal for everyone. And for me, to be there, in second place, to watch it, was special. It’s a different feeling when you’re watching a team you helped build, accomplish what they’ve accomplished.”

The Michael Jordan effect

Michael Jordan isn’t just a figurehead co-owner of 23XI, which derives its name from Jordan’s No 23 with the Chicago Bulls and Hamlin’s car number 11. Hamlin leans on Jordan for advice and business acumen.

“He’s a race fan first,” Hamlin said. “His parents took him to NASCAR races when he was a kid, and that’s how it started. Now he’s our business partner. It allows me the autonomy to run the team as I see fit and make decisions on the competition side I feel like I need to, and him and his team work hard on the business side.

“What makes this combination work so well is we have two different guys who have different specialties, and we trust each other to lead us in the right directions.”

Jordan occasionally attends races, including Talladega last month, but Hamlin isn’t sure the next time he’ll be at the track. “He has a new boat so he’s traveling all over the world right now,” Hamlin said.

The addition of Tyler Reddick

During the offseason, when it became apparent Busch would not be able to resume full-time racing, Hamlin signed Tyler Reddick, whose contract was expiring with Richard Childress Racing, to pilot the No. 45 this year.

That decision has already paid off as Reddick, 27, won the Cup race at Austin in March.

“I knew that kid was going to be a generational talent and scooped him up as soon as I possibly could,” Hamlin said. “I’m really happy with the results he’s given our race team. We’re going to win a lot of races with him over the course of his career and hopefully championships as well.”

Though Busch’s racing future is uncertain, he plays an important role for 23XI Racing serving as a veteran presence for the two race teams while Hamlin devotes time to his role as driver for Joe Gibbs Racing.

“I’ve got Kurt in those guys’ ears, talking like a veteran and keeping them aware of things they can do better, week in and week out,” Hamlin said. “He’s a huge asset to our team. He shows up to practices. He shows up to our debriefs.

“If he can just bring one thought or idea to our drivers in a weekend of something that he sees from the outside, then he’s worth his weight in gold to us.”

Still chasing a championship

Hamlin, meanwhile, still has a strong grip on the steering wheel.

He comes to Kansas seventh in the standings after a fifth-place finish at Dover in last Monday’s rain-delayed race but is still looking for his first win of the season and to snap a winless streak of 33 races, dating to the 2022 Coca Cola 600.

“I have a lot I want to accomplish,” said Hamlin, 42. “I want to get to 60 wins, if possible. If I’m going to do that, I’m going to have to nail down these wins, sooner than later.

“I enjoy the process. I’m still very competitive, We’ve got some room to improve for sure. We need to work on just closing out races, finishing races as good as we’re capable of running. If we continue to have the speed we’ve had, the results will follow.”

Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 champion, has 48 career wins, which ranks 17th all-time, and he recently was named one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers as part of the sport’s 75th anniversary celebration.

“I thought I had a place in there for sure, but you just never know until you know,” Hamlin said. “It’s a big accomplishment, and hopefully there is one more big one that we can get.”

That accomplishment would be capturing the NASCAR Cup championship that has eluded him for 17 seasons.

“It’s important personally, but I don’t know how important it is to the outside public,” said Hamlin, who finished second in 2010 and third in 2014 and 2021. “I’m very satisfied with my career. If I never had another top 5, I’d be OK with how my career went.

“Honestly, it’s not a make or break for me. But I’m going to race like it matters and that’s what drives me at the race track every week, those goals.”

Kansas Speedway schedule

SATURDAY

9:25 a.m. ARCA Series practice.

10:10 a.m. ARCA Series qualifying.

11:05 a.m. NASCAR Craftsman Trucks Series practice.

11:35 a.m. Trucks series qualifying.

1 p.m. ARCA Menards Series Dawn 150 race.

4:05 p.m. NASCAR Cup Series practice.

4:50 p.m. NASCAR Cup qualifying.

7 p.m. NASCAR Craftsman Trucks Heart of America 200 race.

SUNDAY

1:30 p.m. NASCAR Cup driver introductions,

2 p.m. NASCAR Cup AdventHealth 400 race.