“This Isn’t the End” – Michael Jordan Demands More From From NASCAR Team Despite Incredible Achievement

There’s no doubt that Michael Jordan would be proud of his team for getting both cars into the playoffs for the first time. Certainly, it’s a time to celebrate, but not too much. Heading ahead, there is too much at stake for all the playoff drivers involved because the first round of eliminations is right after the three races in the round of 16.

Therefore, if the 23XI Racing team hopes to make it ahead, they would really have to bring their A-game for the next couple of races. That would be especially for the case of Bubba Wallace, who did make it to the playoffs for the first time but is currently sitting last amongst the top 16.

Meanwhile, the team’s president recently shared details of how co-owner Michael Jordan was elated upon seeing Wallace’s performance as he made it into the playoffs for the first time in his career.

23XI Insider reveals the expectations Michael Jordan has now of his team 

Speaking with Sirius XM NASCAR Radio, 23XI Racing President, Steve Lauletta mentioned that on the night they got into the playoffs, Jordan watched the race from his suite. But later on, he sent Lauletta a text message saying he was coming down to the infield. Speaking further, Lauletta described the experience as “surreal“.

.@23XIRacing has both their cars in the #NASCAR Cup Series playoffs for the first time in team history.

What does the 🐐 think about it?

🏆 “[Michael Jordan’s] real proud of the effort but […] as competitive as he is, this isn’t the end of his expectations either.” pic.twitter.com/fGrKI8uNbd

— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) September 2, 2023

He added, “They wanted to see Bubba (Wallace), they wanted to see all of us and say congratulations. We got big hugs with high-fives from him… So it meant a lot, for sure. And he’s real proud of the effort but… As competitive as he (Jordan) is, this isn’t the end of his expectations either.”

“So we’ve got to keep delivering and we’ve got to make sure that we now that we’re in this with the other teams that we put our best foot forward. And we’re showing up the racetrack with really fast cars… I expect that will continue. We just need to execute and like and we could make some noise in these playoffs especially as we get going this weekend.”

Can Bubba Wallace make it through to the round of 12?

Speculations regarding Wallace making it into the round of the 12 would be still premature. We would have to take a look at his consistency in finishes for the next three races. If he can pick up a few stage wins within these races, there would be a good chance for him to make it into the next rounds.

Now looking at his performance throughout the duration of the regular season, he has 6 top 10s, 4 top 5s, no stage points, and 159 laps led. If he carries on this form into the playoffs, things could perhaps work his way, unless the competition ends up scoring better than him.

But for the moment the team looks fairly strong and 23XI would be hoping to advance with both cars into the next round of the playoffs after the race at Bristol later this month.