© 2026 ABC News

Jordan, the current owner of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets, said he has been a lifelong race fan and felt like this was the perfect time to get involved in the sport.

\"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 a news release. \"The opportunity to own my own racing team in partnership with my friend, Denny Hamlin, and to have Bubba Wallace driving for us, is very exciting for me. 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 shared a full statement on Twitter alongside a photo of himself in a firesuit standing next to Jordan inside a motorhome at a NASCAR track.

\"Eleven years ago, I met Michael Jordan at a then-Charlotte Bobcats game, and we became fast friends,\" Hamlin wrote. \"Not long after, I joined Jordan Brand as their first NASCAR athlete. Our friendship has grown over the years, and now we are ready to take it to the next level.\"

Tonight, I'm excited to announce MJ and I are starting a new, single car @NASCAR Cup Series team for 2021. Deciding on a driver was easy - it had to be @BubbaWallace. pic.twitter.com/nIJv0X6ZOX

— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) September 22, 2020

The three-time Daytona 500 winner said he remains focused on winning this year's Cup title but shared the exciting news about the next step with the Cup Series' only full-time Black driver.

\"Deciding on the driver was easy -- it had to be Bubba Wallace.\"

\"PHOTO:
Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
PHOTO: Bubba Wallace waits on the grid prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sept. 6, 2020 in Darlington, S.C.
>

Wallace, 27, made headlines in his push for racial equality and successfully got NASCAR to ban the Confederate flag at all events.

Wallace also had his career best season in the Cup Series this year and announced earlier this month that he would not be returning to Richard Petty Motorsports, who hired him full-time for the 2018 season.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by NASCAR (@nascar) on Sep 21, 2020 at 6:14pm PDT

\"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 said in a statement Monday. \"Both Michael and Denny are great competitors and are focused on building the best team they possibly can to go out and compete for race wins. I'm grateful and humbled that Michael and Denny believe in me and I'm super pumped to begin this adventure with them.\"

Jordan joins former NBA player Brad Daugherty, a partner at JTG Daugherty Racing, as the only Black owners at NASCAR's elite Cup level.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/michael-jordan-backs-nascar-single-car-team-black/story?id=73163224","legacySlug":"/culture/story/michael-jordan-backs-nascar-single-car-team-black-73163224","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"12:02","publishDate":"09-22-2020","updatedTime":"13:25","updatedDate":"09-22-2020","socialImage":{"alt":"Michael Jordon high-fives the crowd during pre-race ceremonies prior to the start of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 22, 2010 in Concord, N.C.","credit":"John Harrelson/Getty Images,FILE","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/m-j-nascar1-file-gty-ml-200922_1600774876058_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"9/22/2020 12:02:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":73163224,"headline":"Michael Jordan announces NASCAR single team","mediaAssetTitle":"MICHAEL JORDAN 1st BLACK NASCAR OWNER","description":"The NBA legend has partnered with Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace. ","duration":"0:44","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/09/200922_gma_jordan_vo_0717_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["70165324","71401316","73163041"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"April 16, 2020","headline":"Michael Jordan reveals 1st person that helped him get where he is today","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/michael-jordan-reflects-bulls-dynasty-legacy-espns-dance-70165324","id":70165324,"image":{"alt":"Michael Jordan reveals 1st person that helped him get where he is today","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/mj-1-ht-aa-200415_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Brian Drake/NBAE","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"June 23, 2020","headline":"NASCAR's Bubba Wallace responds to those who doubted noose incident","section":"news","slug":"/news/story/nascar-driver-bubba-wallace-stand-proud-leader-social-71401316","id":71401316,"image":{"alt":"NASCAR's Bubba Wallace responds to those who doubted noose incident","url":"","credit":"","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"video","date":"September 22, 2020","headline":"Michael Jordan becomes 1st Black NASCAR team owner in nearly 50 years","section":"culture","slug":"/video/73163041","id":73163041,"image":{"alt":"Michael Jordan becomes 1st Black NASCAR team owner in nearly 50 years","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/200922_gma_jordan_hpMain_1x1_240.jpg","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Michael Jordan announces NASCAR single team","description":"The NBA legend has partnered with Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace. ","duration":"0:44","uploadDate":"09-22-2020","publication":"09-22-2020","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/09/200922_gma_jordan_vo_0717_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/09/200922_gma_jordan_vo_0717_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/story/michael-jordan-backs-nascar-single-car-team-black-73163224"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131432442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131121474","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131247079","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131228784","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131178806","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131142257","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131046664","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131048076","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131033212","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130999943","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130971027","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130962159","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130896721","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:culture:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"culture","title":"Michael Jordan announces NASCAR single team","pubTime":"08:02","pubDate":"09-22-2020","modTime":"09:25","modDate":"09-22-2020","taxonomyTags":"none","id":73163224,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Michael Jordan announces NASCAR single team","mediaAssetTitle":"MICHAEL JORDAN 1st BLACK NASCAR OWNER","videoId":73163224,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/culture/story/michael-jordan-backs-nascar-single-car-team-black-73163224"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/73163224","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/73163224","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};