TALLADEGA, Ala. — The 20 or so square feet around the pit box of the No. 23 car is the most diverse spot on a NASCAR track in the year 2023, and, probably, ever. Black and white, young and old, golf-shirt-and-Hoka-wearing bros and sunburnt, logo-slathered NASCAR lifers — they all gather here in the shadow of the pit box.
They’re not here to see Bubba Wallace, the driver of the 23. They’re not here to see Denny Hamlin, or Kyle Busch, or any of the other 35 drivers that started Sunday’s GEICO 500. They’re here to spend a little time in the vicinity of the 23 car’s owner, the guy who made that number 23 famous.In North Carolina, racing is in the air and in the blood
During one NBA game, the long-retired Jordan, now owner of the Hornets, summoned Denny Hamlin, who’s enough of a basketball junkie that he’s often courtside at Hornets games. Jordan stunned Hamlin by asking high-level questions about racing strategy. Soon afterward, Jordan began investing in Hamlin’s racing career, putting the Jumpman logo on Hamlin’s firesuit and turning up at races to support Hamlin.
A month ago, the frustration did boil over when Wallace wrecked out at Circuit of the Americas — a race that Reddick would go on to win. “Two weeks in a row of making rookie mistakes six years into Cup?” Wallace seethed in a postrace interview. “Need to be replaced!”came at Talladega. Yes, it was a rain-halted race in October 2021, but the numbers all look the same in the record book.
Not Jordan. He hasn’t been to many races — when you’re Michael Jordan, you tend to attract attention wherever you go — but when he does, he’s sat right on pit road. He doesn’t do prerace interviews, doesn’t make a big show of himself. He’s here to watch racing, not to be seen. With about 10 laps remaining, the drivers of the two executive limos near the pit box step out of their cars. It’s an overcast day, but one is still sporting sunglasses. They may well be the only two people within a 10-mile radius of Talladega Superspeedway wearing suits.
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