Michael Jordan gets second NASCAR win and first with an Air Jordan car

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Kurt Busch wins Kansas NASCAR race.

Kurt Busch wins Kansas NASCAR race.Chris Graythen/Getty Images

  • Kurt Busch picked up his first win for Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing in Kansas.

  • Busch was debuting the Jumpan car, with a paint scheme based on the Air Jordan III.

  • After a lot of bad luck this season, co-owner Denny Hamlin was nearly brought to tears with the win.

Michael Jordan and the Jumpman logo are winners again, thanks to former NASCAR champion Kurt Busch.

Busch dominated the AdventHealth 400 race in Kansas, leading 82 laps after leading just nine laps in the first 12 races of the season. Busch passed Kyle Larson with eight to go after the defending champ, who struggled with his car all day, slid up and hit the wall for the umpteenth time in the race.

It marked Jordan’s second win as the owner of 23XI Racing and his first since Bubba Wallace’s rain-shortened win at Talladega last season.

It was also Busch’s first race in the Jumpan car, with a paint scheme based on the Air Jordan IIIs that MJ wore in the 1988 NBA All-Star Game.

Kurt Busch Jumpman Air Jordan Car.

Kurt Busch Jumpman Air Jordan Car.Chris Graythen/Getty Images

After the race, Busch was as happy as any driver we remember after a NASCAR win in recent memory, noting that he felt like he needed to race “like the GOAT,” Michael Jordan.

Moments later, 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin, who finished fourth, was brought to tears over Busch’s performance.

Hamlin noted the bad luck the team had experienced all season, including Bubba Wallace, who appeared to have a top-five car but took a penalty late in the race when his crew lost control of a tire during a pit stop.

Meanwhile, Hamlin also expressed jealousy that Busch got to drive the first Jordan “Jumpman” car.

“Jordan Brand’s first race,” Hamlin said after the race. “So jealous that he got to drive that car and then to have that thing so fast. I’ve never had, certainly, this kind of feeling even for a win for me.”

Read the original article on Insider

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