Michael Jordan Starts a NASCAR Team With Bubba Wallace as the Driver

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NBA legend Michael Jordan is starting a NASCAR team. And Bubba Wallace is going to be the driver.

In a move announced Monday night, Jordan — along with partner Denny Hamlin, who is currently a NASCAR Cup Series driver — struck an agreement to purchase a NASCAR team charter. Jordan will be the majority owner of the team, making him the first Black principal owner since 1973 — when driver Wendell Scott owned his team. Wallace is the first full-time Black NASCAR Cup Series driver since Scott.

“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,” Jordan said, in a release. “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.”

Wallace, who is leaving the team owned by NASCAR legend Richard Petty in order to drive for Jordan, said that he couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

“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. “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.”

Wallace has been in the national spotlight in recent months, as he has promoted various social justice initiatives in and beyond NASCAR. Wallace led a push to get the sport to ban the Confederate flag at its tracks. A noose was found in his garage at Talladega Superspeedway in June, but the FBI investigated and concluded that the garage rope had been tied in that shape months earlier, and was not directed at Wallace.