Some of the Charlotte region's biggest names in sports are revving up a new racing venture. Michael Jordan, NBA Hall of Famer and majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets, has joined NASCAR star Denny Hamlin to establish a race team, according to statements from the business partners.
The yet-to-be-named team's car will be piloted by Bubba Wallace, the only black driver in NASCAR's top-tier Cup Series. He's become a higher-profile figure this year as a vocal supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement.
"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 in his prepared remarks. "Historically, NASCAR has struggled with diversity and there have been few Black owners. The timing seemed perfect as NASCAR is evolving and embracing social change more and more."
Hamlin, in a statement he posted to social media, noted that he and Jordan became friends after meeting at an NBA game in Charlotte 11 years ago. He later become the first NASCAR athlete to team up with MJ's Jordan Brand.
"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."
"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 in his own statement. "I’m grateful and humbled that they believe in me and I’m super pumped to begin this adventure with them."
Details about the type of car, its number and potential sponsors have yet to be revealed, though a Yahoo Sports report hints at a partnership with Toyota.
ESPN notes this is not Jordan's first foray into the world of motorsports. He's said to be purchasing a NASCAR Cup Series Charter for the new team, and he'll be its principal owner with Hamlin as a minority partner. The completed purchase of the charter from Germain Racing will make Jordan the first Black majority owner of a full-time race team in the league’s premier series since NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Wendell Scott raced his own car in the 1960s and '70s.
Wallace had announced earlier this month that he would be parting ways with his current team, Richard Petty Motorsports, at the end of the current season. Hamlin will continue driving the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Wallace has made 105 career starts at the sports’s top level, all of them with RPM, according to NASCAR.com. He has five top-10 finishes this year, including a fifth-place run in the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway.