Michael Jordan often received flak for not attending races of his team, 23XI Racing. Although not every team owner is present at the racetrack on every race day, somehow the bar is set high for Jordan. And while a few critics think he’s in the NASCAR business only for the big bucks. Kevin Harvick’s revelation would make them think twice about the opinion they hold of him.

Imagine receiving a prep talk or message of encouragement from Michael Jordan, one of the most prominent sporting personalities. Harvick, while speaking with Tyler Reddick in an interview, recalled an incident during his final year of racing at Stewart Haas Racing. Where he was dejected after a disappointing finish got to his head until Jordan came in to motivate him with his encouraging words.

Michael Jordan is a mentor every race car driver wishes they had
Harvick was referring to his disappointing race at Bristol Motor Speedway in the playoffs of 2023. After two mediocre runs at Darlington and Kansas, the SHR star finished the Bristol race in the 29th spot. This was his 14th appearance in the playoffs, but he could not make it past the Round of 16 in his final season. What followed next was dejection and disappointment, but even he couldn’t have expected Michael Jordan would help guide him through that rough patch.

“When I was at Bristol last year. We had a terrible day, and I’m walking out of the tunnel, and I’m by myself and the PR guy and walking down the tunnel, and I feel this big hand just grab the back of my neck, and I’m like, Oh god. And I turn around, and it’s Michael, and he says, “Buddy, don’t sweat today; you’ve had a great run at it,” Harvick said while speaking to Tyler Reddick on Happy Hour episode No. 56.

The former SHR ace was caught off guard by how MJ kept himself up to date with the racing all year. As he knew all the details of his run in 2024, this only goes to show that he is passionate about NASCAR racing. “He went into this long spill of how he has watched, and he was referencing races and moments, and I’m like, my god, this guy actually does watch the races and he walked with me all the way out to the tunnel, talked to me, and we went out separate ways. I was kind of caught off guard by that moment,” Harvick added.

On the other side of the spectrum, Michael Jordan makes sure he keeps his two drivers motivated. And he resorted to some interesting tactics to get the best out of them; Reddick even recalled the time when his team owner bluntly highlighted his weakness at Superspeedways.

Tyler Reddick recalls his team owner’s subtle jab at him during his first year at 23XI Racing

Anyone who has seen MJ’s documentary ‘The Last Dance’ would know how demanding and ruthless the NBA legend was. While he might not ply his trade on the basketball court anymore, he has the same mindset in his role as the owner of a NASCAR team. Just like Harvick, surprise also took Tyler Reddick by the knowledge and details of the sports MJ knew about. In Reddick’s case, he took a dig at his track record on the superspeedway racetrack.

“We were down at Daytona before the 500. Me, him and Bubba were talking about speedway racing. I can’t remember what I said, but he turned to me and said, Man, you don’t have anyone to talk to, you’re terrible at speedway racing. He just kind of took a shot at me, and I wasn’t expecting it. I took it the right way, and I’m like, I have some work to do,” Reddick said to Harvick.

Props to MJ for igniting a fire, as since then, Reddick has improved on speedways. In fact, his first win of 2024 came to the Talladega Superspeedway. So, it’s fair to say the 23XI Racing co-owner knows how to steer the wheel for his team in the right direction.