Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing geared up for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season-opener at the Bowman Gray Stadium with a paint scheme reveal for the #45 Toyota Camry driven by Tyler Reddick. However, the team soon deleted the social media post for inexplicable reasons.
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The initial release of the paint scheme saw Jordan’s ‘UNBANNABLE’ branding adorned prominently at the rear of the Toyota Camry, along with the post featuring red police tape with the same words. Considering this could have rubbed NASCAR the wrong way given the team’s current legal scenario with the governance, the post was taken down.
Most recently, the sanctioning body of American Stock Car racing faced defeat in court as they were unable to prevent Jordan’s team from acquiring a charter from the now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2025 season.
Potential "banned" Jordan paint scheme for Tyler Reddick in the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray on Feb. 2nd https://t.co/DDzBlXQ5Wx pic.twitter.com/4RnEtiLSz7
— Bob McKamey (@BobMcKamey) January 24, 2025
Hence, someone at 23XI Racing certainly believes that the ‘UNBANNABLE’ quip is a little too soon, and in bad taste from the perspective of NASCAR. The team was quick to pull that campaign down and re-uploaded Reddick’s paint scheme sans the branding in question.
Did Michael Jordan and 23XI Racing really take a dig at NASCAR?
While the meaning of the deleted paint scheme launch and its possible interpretations could not be lost on 23XI Racing, it was Michael Jordon’s iconic battles with the NBA back in 1984. The 23XI co-owner had just signed his endorsement deal with Nike and released the Air Jordan I sneakers that year.
However, the design of the shoe went against NBA’s uniform regulations, and the body started fining Jordan $5,000 each time he wore them on the court. Nike fought back, paying the fine every time the NBA sanctioned one on Jordan. They turned it into a masterstroke marketing campaign.
“On October 15, Nike created a revolutionary new basketball shoe. On October 18, the NBA threw them out of the game. Fortunately, the NBA can’t keep you from wearing them. Air Jordans. From Nike,” became the slogan for the Air Jordan I.
It paid off magnificently, as the company sold $70 million worth of sneakers by May next year. Today, the brand is one of the most prominent globally. Jordan will hope to emulate similar success with 23XI Racing — as he goes toe-to-toe with his NASCAR rivals on track.
