Watch: $3.5B 23XI team owner Michael Jordan celebrates with Bubba Wallace and his Daytona Duel trophy

Bubba Wallace’s latest victory at the Daytona Duel brought a celebration from none other than 23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan. Wallace shared a video of the moment on Instagram, where Jordan congratulated him on the achievement.

The video was uploaded to Bubba Wallace’s official Instagram handle, where he referred to Jordan as “the big boss” in the caption. It read:

“Brought the Big Boss back some hardware🔥”.

The clip shows Wallace presenting the Duel 1 trophy to Jordan. He accepts the trophy and congratulates Wallace by saying:

“Good job, kid. That’s a good start.”

Another voice in the background recalls teaching Wallace that the last year. While the face isn’t visible and it’s hard to tell who the voice belongs to, a guess would be that it was Denny Hamlin, the team’s co-owner.

“I taught you that last year.”

Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin founded 23XI Racing in 2021, bringing Jordan’s passion for NASCAR into team ownership. According to FOX Sports, Jordan told Hamlin:

“I don’t want to just go around and finish 18th, 19th, 20th. I want to win.”

Wallace was chosen to drive the No. 23 Toyota. Bubba Wallace’s win in the Daytona Duel 1 at Daytona International Speedway secured him a third-place starting position for the Daytona 500. The win also gave him 10 points, making him the current leader in the Cup Series standings.

The race saw Wallace outpace William Byron, Ty Dillon, and Ross Chastain to take the checkered flag. His No. 23 Toyota held off a late charge in a three-wide battle. A late-race caution bunched the field together, but Wallace executed a near-perfect restart, maintaining his lead and crossing the finish line first. Following his first-place finish, William Byron took the second position while Ty Dillon secured the third place.

Wallace’s win helped Justin Allgaier and JR Motorsports lock their spots in the Daytona 500. Chandler Smith’s early crash with Helio Castroneves handed Allgaier the chance to secure his position in Sunday’s (February 16) race.

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“HOW ‘BOUT IT?!” – Bubba Wallace sends a message to his rivals

Wallace started the year strong, finishing P5 at the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium after starting from 14th place. Carrying that momentum into Daytona, he now looks to challenge for his first-ever Daytona 500 win. After securing his first Duel victory, Bubba Wallace took to X to share a simple yet confident message. He wrote:

“HOW ‘BOUT IT?!”

The 2024 season was difficult for Wallace, as he was winless through 36 races and missed the playoffs, finishing 18th in the final standings. His 23XI Racing teammate Tyler Reddick had a standout year, winning the regular-season championship and finishing fourth overall.

Wallace’s Duel victory signals a potential turnaround for the No. 23 team. With strong backing from Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, he is in a prime position to compete for wins.