“He gonna be running NASCAR soon”: Fans react as $3.2B worth Michael Jordan joins Denny Hamlin for preliminary hearing in lawsuit

NBA legend Michael Jordan, worth $3.2 billion (per Forbes), and 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin attended a preliminary injunction hearing at the U.S. District Court in Charlotte, North Carolina along with Front Row Motorsports owner Bob Jenkins. 23XI Racing and FRM sued the National Stock Car Racing Association in October after failing to fulfill the new charter rules. The teams refused to accept the last-minute change and sued the Sanction Association, leading to a legal proceeding at the District Court in Charlotte.

NASCAR journalist Dustin Long shared the post of the trio heading to the court. Jordan wore a formal black suit.

Fans filled the comment section reflecting on Jordan's "involved" attitude:

"I love how involved in this Michael Jordan is. He doesn’t need to be. He genuinely loves this and he’s so good for the sport."

One shared a clip of the NBA legend dunking during his prime and wrote:

"MJ about to show y’all why is the [Goat emoji]. He gonna be running NASCAR soon."

Hamlin wore a silver suit with sneakers and fans criticized the Cup Series driver for "clown shoes."

"You’d think Hamlin would have something other than clown shoes for a court date. Take a page from your co-owner," one wrote.

One shared a WWE gif of three wrestlers walking and compared them to Denny Hamlin, Michael Jordan, and Bob Jenkins:

"NASCAR has become a TV Show outside of racing."

An awestruck fan watching the three big figures from the sport come together said:

"What a wild sight!"

Jordan's lawyer, Jeffery Kessler, pointed out that the preliminary injunction ruling will decide Tyler Reddick's future on the team.

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Michael Jordan's lawyers underline the critical situation of potentially losing Tyler Reddick - “We’d never get him back"

23XI Racing is experiencing its best season since its debut in 2021 and Tyler Reddick is its Championship 4 contender. All the Cup Series teams were asked to stamp the charter agreement by September 6, and the teams failing to share the contract were at risk of losing their existing charters for the upcoming season.

23XI Racing and FRM denied signing the contract and sued NASCAR for alleged malpractices. The teams requested a temporary charter grant, but NASCAR rejected their request.

Michael Jordan's lawyer Jeffrey Kessler highlighted that if the court didn't rule in their favor, they might lose Reddick (via Washington Post):

"We have a potential champion who would be free to leave and we’d never get him back. This could put these teams out of business. You can’t go to a stock car team and ask them to become a Formula 1 team.”

The ongoing standoff between Jordan's 23XI Racing and NASCAR will continue in the district court until Friday, November 8, 2024.