Denny Hamlin doesn’t call his newly built, 114,000 square feet facility a shop anymore. He and his partner, Michael Jordan, refer to it as the “Airspeed,” a fusion of speed and athletic splendor. Needless to say, just like the name of their team, 23XI Racing, Airspeed is a similar combination; “Air” for the NBA legend and “Speed” for the Pied Piper of Pocono. But it’s not just the pomp and show of this new facility that makes Airspeed stand out.
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“I believe that we really put an emphasis on mental health,” admitted the veteran racer. “We really put an emphasis on making sure people are in the same space, able to work together, come up with new fresh ideas, and I believe that this place will change the game.”
Hamlin doesn’t view Airspeed as anything different from a college facility where the parents take their kids to take a look at where they would be spending perhaps the most valuable times of their lives over the next few years. Therefore, the #11 driver realizes how important it is to create the best working environment for the team’s recruiting facility.
Bubba Wallace takes a playful jab at his boss
Recently, Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports got the opportunity to interview Bubba Wallace. When he asked what Wallace thought of the new facility, the #23 driver admitted that he would be able to answer the question better after they had operated for about six months in the state-of-the-art facility in Huntersville, North Carolina. But he did thank his boss for cutting down his commute time by a minute. That was meant to be sarcastic, but it was all in good humor.
“The drive to shop in Mooreville was 25 minutes from my house. So the new shop, Airpeed, is 24 minutes away. And I enjoy being there much longer and have no problem driving that drive. If you ask me to go to Moorseville, nah I’m sick; I’ll call in,” he smiled.
Pockrass was curious if Wallace had considered listening to Hamlin’s podcast to know if the drive to Airspeed would be a shorter one, to which, Wallace jokingly replied, “He has a podcast? I didn’t even know. Don’t even listen to it!” Pockrass couldn’t help but burst into laughter after hearing that.
