--- description: Find out why Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan was selected for TIME‘s 2026 list of the most influential people in sports. title: TIME100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026: Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb7f5a7a39da47d3b/6a209e26fc978abad76f96c6/T100SPORTS-2026-Web-Michael-Jordan-and-Denny-Hamlin.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Jun 09, 2026 # Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan by [Sean Gregory](/author/sean-gregory/) ## Sean Gregory Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent  Chris Graythen—Getty Images Michael Jordan is pretty well-known for transforming basketball. But few would have predicted that Jordan, in tandem with three-time Daytona 500-winning driver Denny Hamlin, would initiate monumental change in NASCAR, too. In 2024, 23XI Racing—the NASCAR Cup Series team co-owned by Jordan and Hamlin—and Front Row Motorsports filed an antitrust suit against NASCAR, alleging that the organization’s revenue-sharing model, which many described as antiquated, unlawfully constrained teams and that NASCAR and its chairman operated as “monopolistic bullies.” Jordan testified at the trial in December 2025, urging NASCAR, a family business run by CEO Jim France, to behave more like the NBA, where the league and team owners partner to grow the pie. The parties [settled](https://www.nascar.com/news-media/2025/12/11/nascar-lawsuit-settlement-23xi-front-row/ "undefined") with no admission of liability by NASCAR, but with NASCAR agreeing to amend existing charters to make them “evergreen,” making it easier for teams to secure sponsorships and recruit drivers. A 23XI driver, Tyler Reddick, leads the NASCAR Cup Series standings. Hamlin, who drives for Joe Gibbs Racing even though he co-owns 23XI, sits in second. He has won three races so far this year, including the two most recent ones. Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan: TIME100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/denny-hamlin-and-michael-jordan/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/denny-hamlin-and-michael-jordan/"},"headline":"TIME100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026: Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan","datePublished":"2026-06-09T12:00:48.288Z","dateModified":"2026-06-09T12:00:48.401Z","description":"Find out why Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan were selected for TIME‘s 2026 list of the most influential people in sports.","url":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/denny-hamlin-and-michael-jordan/","keywords":["list","franchise"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb7f5a7a39da47d3b/6a209e26fc978abad76f96c6/T100SPORTS-2026-Web-Michael-Jordan-and-Denny-Hamlin.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sean Gregory","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/sean-gregory/"}],"creator":"Sean Gregory","articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb7f5a7a39da47d3b/6a209e26fc978abad76f96c6/T100SPORTS-2026-Web-Michael-Jordan-and-Denny-Hamlin.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/denny-hamlin-and-michael-jordan/","name":"TIME100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026: Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan"}}]}] ```