When Michael Jordan and his right-hand man, Curtis Polk, bought a NASCAR team in 2020 with the driver Denny Hamlin, they were prepared to endure short-term losses.
The Next Generation cars that were introduced in 2022 would cost top teams about $18 million a year to run before paying a driver, and their team, 23xi, had two.
But they believed they’d make that money back over time because NASCAR had a lot of room to grow.
Sponsorships, the lifeblood of every race team, were still in demand, especially for a team owned by a basketball legend like Jordan.
The main reason, they said, is NASCAR’s reluctance to share more of its growing revenue with 23xi and the 15 other racing teams in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Persons:
Michael Jordan, Curtis Polk, Denny Hamlin, Jordan
Organizations:
NASCAR, Fox, NBC, Amazon, Warner Bros .