Skip to main content
Join Now
NASCAR Logo

Kevin Harvick reacts to monumental moment between Michael Jordan, Jim France after Daytona 500

Meby: Nick Geddes02/17/26NickGeddesNews

Michael Jordan and the No. 45 23XI Racing team had a visitor in Victory Lane following Tyler Reddick‘s victory in the Daytona 500 on Sunday. It was none other than Jim France, NASCAR‘s CEO.

It was a stunning visual, seeing that just a couple months ago, Jordan and France were going head-to-head in court as a result of 23XI and Front Row Motorsports’ antitrust lawsuit against France and NASCAR. Stunning as it was, it was “really good” for the sport, Kevin Harvick said on Tuesday’s “Happy Hour.”

“I wanna go back to my favorite moment in Victory Lane and just how ironic this whole scenario is with NASCAR and 23XI because Jim France and Michael Jordan shaking hands and Jim France and Denny Hamlin shaking hands — that is really good for our sport,” Harvick said.

“The fact that Jim France went to Victory Lane and the effort they are putting in to move forward and be happy for each other and work together and as Michael Jordan said in his interview, communicate — it’s all about communication, he mentioned it a few times in his interview — says a lot about us moving on.”

Michael Jordan, NASCAR moving forward after battle in court

That France, who typically stays out of the limelight, went out of his way to congratulate Jordan and Hamlin is a major deal. Throughout the duration of the 15-month legal battle, NASCAR had no incentive to promote Jordan’s involvement in the sport, and the same the other way.

But after reaching a settlement after eight days in court, that’s beginning to change. Both sides are moving forward and as Jordan said as much on Sunday, communication is key.

“Communication — the thing is, both sides have been somewhat at a stalemate, and we both needed to have conversations about change, how we can grow this sport,” Jordan said. “Unfortunately, we had to go through what we had to go through last summer. But I think coming out of that, you have a much better appreciation for each other, and I think it opens up conversations amongst each other to continue to grow the game.

“Don’t forget about the fans. The fans make this game so much enjoyable to watch. As much as we can listen, change, please the fans, please the teams and continue to grow the sport, I think everybody’s going to be OK.”