Michael Jordan knows a thing or two about winning.
The iconic NBA star won six championships during his playing career. He won six titles with the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s. Jordan has since moved on from the NBA to NASCAR, as he's a co-owner of 23XI Racing with Denny Hamlin.
Jordan is on hand for the Daytona 500 on Sunday. The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series race began at 2:13 p.m. E.T. on Sunday, as it was pushed up one hour, due to storms in the area. Wallace, who failed to go deep in the postseason in 2025, is hoping for a better outcome in 2026.
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Jordan, who has a good relationship with Wallace, gave, the 23XI Racing driver some simple advice before the race.
The iconic NBA star kept it simple with Wallace: wipe the slate from 2025 clean and push strong into 2026.
While Wallace was frustrated with how 2025 ended, he needs to put that aside right now, Jordan says. He wants Wallace solely focused on today's outcome.
Wallace is excited for the season, too
Wallace is pumped, too.
“I actually seen him yesterday on the golf course,” Wallace said, via Rich Jones of Daily Express U.S. “We had a good leadership meeting a couple of weeks ago. He’s fired up, it’s a new season, it’s a clean slate, and we’re ready to go get it.”
He added: “Yeah, we’ve both been fans of the sport, he’s been a lot longer fan than I have, but we understand what it takes to be successful and to win at this level is super hard, but when you have the right people surrounding you, then sky’s the limit. So, put it all together.”
The 2026 NASCAR Daytona 500 is airing live on FOX.