23XI Racing is rewriting the NASCAR record books in 2026, and the business side is moving fast.
The team has won four of the first six points races, and its commercial momentum is now matching that on-track dominance. Michael Jordan has attended every race the team has won this season. Also, his personal brand is gaining increasing power.
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Tyler Reddick has been the driving force behind all four wins, leading the Cup Series standings, while Bubba Wallace sits third in points.
Together, they’ve handed 23XI the most electric start in recent NASCAR memory, which is drawing the sport an audience it hasn’t seen in years.
“@23XIRacingsays a sizzling start to the year on the track is about to dovetail with big commercial moves, like a Bubba Wallace meal at @Hardees and growing hopes of a team shoe deal with @Nike’s Air Jordan brand,” Adam Stern confirmed.
Jordan Brand has stepped into a deeper role with the team this season. It outfitted 23XI’s pit crew with specialized shoes built over years of development.
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It also launched a limited-edition shirt and social media campaign around the team’s historic three-win opening stretch.
On top of that, it featured a scene of the Daytona 500 in a recent ad.
A basketball game activation at San Diego State University and a Daytona watch party at a sports bar on Coronado Island, co-produced with 23XI and Toyota, added another dimension to the partnership.
Team president Steve Lauletta confirmed talks are ongoing about capsule collections and a potential 23XI-edition shoe sold at retail. “We’d love to see that,” he said.
On the sponsor front, 23XI quickly replaced the departed McDonald’s with Hardee’s. The plan is to activate heavily around Wallace. Not only that, but it also includes a dedicated meal and TV commercial.
Lauletta also hired former NWSL CRO Mitch Poll as vice president of marketing. It’s a move aimed at amplifying the brand to a wider sports audience.
“I wanted to bring someone here that can take experience from other areas of the sports business, which [Poll] has, and kind of bring in a new perspective of, ‘How do you take a brand that now means something and is proven a little bit and amplify that to the next level?'” Lauletta explained.
Chumba Casino has been among the biggest commercial winners so far this season. It is serving as the primary sponsor on two of Reddick’s four victories, including Daytona.
The brand was also on Wallace’s car when he won the Brickyard 400 last year.
In addition, the parent company, VGW, is now exploring incorporating 23XI’s intellectual property into its games. It’s also advertising additional free-to-play products in NASCAR and bringing top Chumba customers to races for hospitality.
The media exposure surrounding 23XI’s run has been staggering. The team generated 2.7 billion media impressions across 76 countries around the 2026 Daytona 500.
It is 23% more than what Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron drew after winning the race in 2025, per Cision data.
That included a national CBS News feature with host Gayle King at Phoenix Raceway in March. It also includes widespread footwear media coverage tied to the team’s shoe story.
During Daytona 500 weekend, every 23XI entry earned at least $1.5 million in quality media value, according to Nielsen.
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The team added 22,800 social media followers in February alone. It also drove 530 million views and 10.8 million engagements in the week after the race.
Meanwhile, other team partners, including Xfinity, Robinhood, Monster Energy, Columbia Sportswear, and Toyota, continue to round out a sponsorship portfolio that reflects how far the team has come since its founding five years ago.
