How Michael Jordan convinced NASCAR great Kurt Busch to join 23XI

NASCAR great Kurt Busch has revealed the incredible story of how Michael Jordan convinced him to join 23XI Racing.

Busch was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame this week after a stellar career which saw him win a Cup championship in 2004 and 34 races in the sport's elite series, including the Daytona 500.

During the ceremony in Charlotte, North Carolina, Busch gave an impressive, emotional 15-minute speech to the crowd, and towards the end, he touched upon his time at 23XI.

23XI proved to be Busch's final team in the sport after he was forced to retire due to injury following his crash at Pocono that year, but he revealed to the audience that he had actually made up his mind on retirement before joining.

Kurt Busch and Michael Jordan's incredible first meeting

Busch says that he was content with what he had done in the sport by the end of 2021, but that the phone did not stop ringing.

Then, an amazing first meeting with 23XI co-owner Jordan happened. The rest, as they say, is history.

“The final chapter started and ended a little sooner than I expected,” Busch explained in his HOF speech. “Phone calls from Denny Hamlin, Toyota, Monster Energy and the GOAT, MJ, that’s what extended my career.

“I honestly had my mind made up in 2021 that I was complete, that I was fulfilled. But the phone kept ringing.”

Busch went on to recall the meeting with Jordan, who convinced him to sign for the team by making a very powerful comparison.

“When I met Michael Jordan for the first time, he asked me, ‘Do you know why I want to hire you to start the second car for 23XI?’ And I said, ‘No Sir, why?’

He said, ‘You race the same way I played the game of basketball. You race from your heart. That's how I did it.

“That was deep into my soul and fulfilled my desire to push again and to re-energize and develop and just go after building that number 45 car at 23XI.”