With Jordan and Hocevar, 23XI Racing and Spire shake up NASCAR competition structure

The brash 23-year-old hotshot driver likes quoting "Talladega Nights" in race on his team radio and makes few apologies for bowling over the NASCAR establishment to pursue a win. The six-time NBA champion who also is a Cup car owner has become a weekly presence in victory lane on national TV. The points standings in NASCAR's premier series are packed at the top with upstart organizations dominating the early storylines in 2026. The wreck-filled drafting tracks of Daytona International Speedway and Echo Park Speedway are known for producing results that are less than indicative of a full season. But through two races, 23XI Racing and Spire Motorsports have owned the narrative over title stalwarts Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske — a trio accounting for 18 of the past 21 Cup championships. "We show up to the racetrack every weekend with the effort of breaking up the three big teams," 23XI Racing star Tyler Reddick said Sunday after his second consecutive victory to open the season. "We want to jump in and be a part of the conversation with those three. We want to take the competition to them." NASCAR's competitive structure is being shook up by a world-famous athlete and a wacky personality. 23XI Racing is co-owned by basketball legend Michael Jordan, whose team has the top two drivers in the points standings with Reddick and Bubba Wallace. Spire Motorsports has the fourth-ranked driver in Carson Hocevar, who finished fourth Sunday at the 1.54-mile oval south of Atlanta in Hampton, Georgia. His third consecutive top 10 at Atlanta came a week after he led entering the final lap of the Daytona 500 before crashing just past the white flag in NASCAR's biggest race. He showed his trademark resilience at Atlanta, rallying from a cut tire that dropped his No. 77 Chevrolet two laps down. During a late red flag, Hocevar instructed his spotter to relay messages to Wallace and Ross Chastain that he wanted to "shake and bake" on the restart. Channeling Will Ferrell's Ricky Bobby character from "Talladega Nights" is on brand for Hocevar, who has angered the opposition since arriving in Cup two years ago. Going for the lead during the first overtime restart at Atlanta, he plowed into the left rear of Christopher Bell's No. 20 Toyota and triggered a five-car crash. "I was taking every run," Hocevar said. "I'm sure I owe people apologies, but I think we're all going for spaces and runs." Teammate Daniel Suarez took a more measured approach to finish fifth and improve to seventh in the standings for Spire Motorsports, which already was in the headlines after hiring away a key executive from Gibbs. The team since has filed a lawsuit against former competition director Chris Gabehart. "I couldn't be prouder of Spire Motorsports," Suarez said. "These guys continue to fight and get better. Just super happy to be here. We have a great thing going." Suarez joined Spire from Trackhouse Racing, which had two top 10s Sunday with Chastain (third) and Shane van Gisbergen (a career-best sixth on an oval). Zane Smith was seventh at Atlanta and is ranked fifth in points for Front Row Motorsports. Hendrick's Chase Elliott (third) is the only driver from NASCAR's traditional "Big Three" in the top 10 of the standings. Penske's highest-ranked driver is Ryan Blaney in eighth, and Joe Gibbs Racing's top driver is Chase Briscoe, who is 15th in points after taking second at Atlanta. It's all a welcome change for NASCAR, which recently launched a "Hell Yeah" promo campaign aimed at attracting a new audience (which already knows Jordan from his NBA career) while satisfying its longtime fans (who appreciate the rough-hewn style of Hocevar). Under the new 10-race Chase championship, Reddick could have a chance to become the first champion from outside Hendrick, Penske and Gibbs since Martin Truex Jr. in 2017. "It's very early, but it's not by circumstances," said Denny Hamlin, who recruited Jordan, a lifelong NASCAR fan, as his partner in 23XI Racing. "Just doing a lot of the right things. We're making up for lost time." But there's still a long way to go in becoming a powerhouse. "It's too early for that," Hamlin said. "We're many wins and championships away from that ... but we're working hard." ___ AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing