Is 23XI Racing Quietly Redefining NASCAR’s Power Structure Under Michael Jordan?

After his first five years of mediocre-to-fair success as NASCAR team co-owner and main figurehead of 23XI Racing, Michael Jordan has exploded in notoriety and influence over the sport in the last several months.

Granted, much of that change is due to the outcome of the egregious lawsuit Jordan, 23XI, and Front Row Motorsports had against NASCAR, claiming antitrust violations, which ultimately led to NASCAR settling the suit when it appeared it had little to no chance of winning.

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At the same time, the suit led to the abrupt resignation of NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps, whose verbal and written (primarily texts and emails) criticisms and insults of individuals like Jordan, fellow owner Richard Childress, and others ultimately led to a public airing of NASCAR’s dirty laundry and how Phelps and other leaders in the sport felt about their owner counterparts.

Obviously, the best way for NASCAR to have minimized damage would have been for the sanctioning body to simply give in to 23XI’s and FRM’s legal arguments, grant them permanent Cup Series charters for a total of six race cars between the two organizations, as well as financial recompense.

Instead, NASCAR went forward with the suit, believing either blindly or naively that it was in a no-lose situation. The trial was initially expected to last at least three weeks. But after about the third or fourth day of what would be a shortened eight-day trial, and especially when the explosive revelations of those written messages and testimony from witnesses about conversations were made public, NASCAR’s credibility – and its legal standing in the case – fell like a boulder that rolled off a cliff.

That left NASCAR with no other choice but to settle the suit in the plaintiff’s favor, plainly and simply.

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Had that not occurred and NASCAR continued forward with its extremely weak and suspect case that was falling apart at the seams, NASCAR could have suffered even greater and irreparable harm to its brand, its reputation, its integrity, as well as its trust and loyalty from fans.

And let’s not forget how the business community – particularly sponsors of teams and the sanctioning body itself (such as companies that proudly tout being “official sponsor of NASCAR”) – would likely have reacted dismally.

There really was no other choice for NASCAR than to accede.

Since NASCAR’s settlement proposal was offered and accepted by the plaintiffs on December 11, 2025, NASCAR has remained under public scrutiny and suspicion, while Jordan, in particular, has emerged as somewhat of a white knight who many believe is going to save the sport and turn it around to be bigger than it ever has been.

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Among things that have happened since December 11:

* Less than a month later, Phelps resigned as NASCAR Commissioner. Many questioned whether Phelps left by choice (as he said he was doing when he announced his departure at the end of January), or was he pushed … aka, fired.

* Something that has been significantly downplayed – and most likely was intentionally done that way to further reduce criticism of the sanctioning body – in the wake of Phelps’ departure is that Steve O’Donnell was elevated to the role of NASCAR President, while Phelps’ role as commissioner was permanently eliminated. That was an especially odd move, as ever since Phelps joined NASCAR’s front office in 2005, he had lobbied several times for NASCAR’s Board of Directors to create a Commissioner position to bring it more in line with leaders of other sports, such as NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, NBA Commissioner Adam Stern, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. That promotion of Phelps to NASCAR Commissioner finally occurred in early 2025, but 10 months later, Phelps and the title of Commissioner were both gone, likely forever.

* Things have gotten so strange in NASCAR’s corporate office, and the leadership vacuum which was created with Phelps’ departure, that a number of rumors and reports have indicated a number of big names should be considered to replace Phelps/O’Donnell as NASCAR’s Numero Uno, including Jordan, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin. All three have either denied the reports or came out and said they were not now or ever will be interested in leading the sport (although they likely could do a better job than some of the current administration).

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* When Tyler Reddick won this year’s season-opening Daytona 500, the biggest win in 23XI’s history, numerous fans grumbled that the win was a gift to the team as “payment” for settling the lawsuit. But things got more weird over the next two races, also won by Reddick, making him the first driver in NASCAR history to win each of the first three races in a season. In other words, the conspiracy theorists increased in volume and, to an increasing number of fans, the conspiracy believability was indeed elevated.

* After Reddick failed to win at either Phoenix or Las Vegas, that pretty much ultimately shot down the conspiracy theory of the race outcomes being fixed. So then what happened? Reddick wins a fourth time in the first six races at Darlington last week. And now, given his past success coming up through the short track ranks earlier in his racing career, don’t be surprised if Reddick takes win No. 5 Sunday at Martinsville and No. 6 next week at Bristol, the two premier short tracks on the Cup schedule.

Or, if not Reddick, there’s also his teammate, Bubba Wallace, who is off to the best season start of his career but has remained in Reddick’s shadow by not reaching victory lane himself.

Frankly, even though he likely wouldn’t touch the job with a 10-foot pole, Jordan could very well be exactly what NASCAR needs to lead its front office. I’m not disparaging O’Donnell or the job he’s doing, but Jordan could run circles around O’D in terms of influence, power, business acumen, attention, and forward thinking.

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I’ll admit, when Jordan first came into NASCAR six years ago, I thought he’d have some impact, particularly in attracting new fans of color, but he’d only wind up being a marginally successful owner.

But given everything that’s happened in the last six months, it may not be long before we add Jordan’s name to the list of the most powerful and successful owners in NASCAR, joining legendary icons such as Rick Hendrick, Roger Penske, Jack Roush, Joe Gibbs, and Richard Childress.

There’s no question NASCAR’s power structure has had a seismic shift recently – and with Jordan and his team continuing to win races and potential championships – the future for both him and the sanctioning body is looking very bright.