Michael Jordan brands NASCAR rival a 'clown'...but there's a twist

23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan was in attendance at Darlington Raceway on Sunday and ahead of the NASCAR Cup Series action, branded the eventual race winner a 'clown'.

The twist? He was talking about his 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin, who races for another team, Joe Gibbs Racing.

Ryan Blaney looked a cert to win the race after a late overtake on 23XI's Tyler Reddick, but Kyle Larson's crash with four laps to go led to a caution and overtime.

As cars pitted for fresh tires, Denny Hamlin's pit crew were on it, with a fast stop getting him out ahead of both Blaney and Reddick.

Hamlin went on to have an excellent restart, too, taking the black and white checkered flag to wrap up his second victory in a week after also winning at Martinsville last time out.

Michael Jordan on Denny Hamlin

When Hamlin won at Martinsville, he pulled out a flag that read '11 against the world', and Jordan was quizzes on his antics pre-race in Darlington.

"He is a clown," Jordan joked ahead of the Goodyear 400.

"But that's him. That's Denny. He's a very confident driver. He is a very confident person."

Jordan continued: "His competitive juice is no different than mine. I mean, I love that he's gotten back to winning and I want him to win a championship so badly, because I think he's earned that because of what he is done for the sport for so long. And he's gonna grind it out.

"That's just the way Denny is. And you know, if you boo him that makes him better. You know, you boo me that makes me better. I mean that's just the nature of a good competitor."

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