Denny Hamlin Teases Michael Jordan’s Stock Car Simulator Experience

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Michael Jordan and NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin are in their third season working together. The business partners have been doing everything they can to build 23XI Racing.

The pair’s close working relationship has certainly given Hamlin the opportunity to learn more about Jordan in recent years.

During a recent episode of the Actions Detrimental with Denny Hamlin podcast, Hamlin shared a funny story about one of the greatest players in NBA history.

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NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan meets with 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota, prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Pocono Organics CBD 325 at Pocono Raceway on the 26th June 2021 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Sean Gardner/23XI Racing via Getty Images)

Hamlin was asked if Jordan would ever take a stock car for a few spins. He then recalled a time when Jordan had difficulty using the Toyota simulator.

“Never again,” Hamlin said. “He did it once, but it was the simulator on TRD. That content hasn’t been released, nor will it probably ever be released because of you, good luck getting it approved. But he wanted to feel what we feel, so Toyota set it up and our team set it up for him to go into the Toyota simulator.”

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Hamlin then explained how he helped set up a simulator track for Jordan. Finally they selected Charlotte.

“This was a couple of years ago, I don’t think it was last year… So I was thinking, I said, ‘What kind of track do you want to be on?’ He’s like, ‘I don’t want Daytona, it’s just keeping it wide open, that’s too easy. Give me something, what’s the next step.’ I’m like, ‘Okay, let’s go to Charlotte.’ I probably could have gone Vegas or something. , or Michigan probably should have done that, but it didn’t last long.”

NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan meets with 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota, prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Pocono Organics CBD 325 at Pocono Raceway on the 26th June 2021 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.

NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan meets with 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota, prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Pocono Organics CBD 325 at Pocono Raceway on the 26th June 2021 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Sean Gardner/23XI Racing via Getty Images)

But, the six-time NBA champion’s time behind the wheel was short-lived.

“I mean, he did good, he had trouble holding the car at the bottom of the track. And then, probably 15 minutes went by and he says, ‘I’m done,’ A) he was sweating profusely. It was very hot. They had to modify it, you wouldn’t believe how they had to modify it like the back seat was out of the simulator to fit his legs into the pedals. He put on his helmet and said, ‘Man I just my eyes, I got so dizzy. Like I just started to feel dizzy. So he had to quit.”

Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Toyota FedEx Express, (C) laughs with Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 Toyota SiriusXM, (L) and Ty Gibbs, driver of the #54 Toyota He Get us, at the grid during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 4, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Toyota FedEx Express, (C) laughs with Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 Toyota SiriusXM, (L) and Ty Gibbs, driver of the #54 Toyota He Get us, at the grid during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 4, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

Jordan is a self-proclaimed lifelong NASCAR fan, and he certainly came away from the simulator experience with a better understanding of what drivers encounter when out on the track.

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Jared Allen, co-host of the podcast, asked Hamlin to ride with Jordan in a two-seater race car. “He wouldn’t trust me to do it. No. Because he knows I’ve tried to scare him,” Hamlin said.

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