Michael Jordan’s competitive nature has been chronicled for years now. Even at 52, the Hornets owner has playfully suggested that he was better than anyone on his team.
So when Jordan told Denny Hamlin that he would admit that the Sprint Series star was a better driver than him if he won his next race, Hamlin was pretty surprised.
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Hamlin said Jordan texted him from Monte Carlo on Tuesday with an unusual message.
“And then he says, ‘I know you’re headed into the playoffs and I just want you to know I’ve never admitted to anybody that anyone is better than me at anything, my whole life,'” Hamlin recounted, via NASCARTalk.com.
“But if you win this race this weekend, I will admit that you’re a better driver than I am.’ I thought, ‘Wow, that’d be awesome.’”
Jordan and Hamlin have several connections beyond a text from Monte Carlo. The Jordan Brand sponsors Hamlin, and the two athletes are friends and golf partners. Hamlin cheers on Jordan's Hornets as a season-ticket holder, while Jordan rooted Hamlin on from pit road in last year's championship race.
Jordan's aim at motivating his friend, who tore his ACL playing basketball recently, may have worked. Hamlin won Sunday’s NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup race in Jordan's old back yard, at the Chicagoland Speedway.
