Fans attending this year’s NASCAR street race in Chicago could be in for a treat with a special Jordan Brand collab
Fans of Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing Team could soon get the collaboration we all thought we were going to get when the team was created for NASCAR.
After seeing Tyler Reddick dawn some awesome Air Jordan-inspired paint schemes and even some shoes, there hasn’t really been much on the merchandise side of things. And that’s been a little disappointing. But now, in addition to potential merchandise at team HQ in Charlotte, fans in Chicago could get their hands on gear this Summer.
Denny Hamlin recently revealed in an interview potential plans for a Jordan Brand collab with 23XI Racing at the NASCAR Street Race on June 6 and 7th. The 2024 version will the second installment for the street race after the inaugural one in 2023.
Here is what Hamlin said in a recent interview with Sports Business Journal:
“It’s been just kind of the Jordan Brand’s scene ever since its inception to not be in mass retail. That’s just the way they’ve always done it,” said Hamlin. “As a race team, we try to respect that the most we can, for sure.
For them, does diluting the brand and putting the Jordan Brand on something at a souvenir hauler at a racetrack — while yes it would benefit the team’s bottom line a little bit — is that a gain for the overall brand as a whole? This is a billion-dollar business. They’ve made such a good brand by being scarce and not just giving people what they want all the time. It’s about building that brand equity and not being available all the time, so it’s a fine line and balance.”
Hamlin said, however, he’s working to have specially made 23XI gear from Jordan Brand that fans could buy only in person by visiting Airspeed, the team’s new race shop. In the meantime, Air Jordan will be the primary sponsor of the No. 45 car at the Chicago street race in July, and the team expects a merchandise collaboration with the Jordan Brand then, said 23XI Racing President Steve Lauletta.
NASCAR is back in Chicago in 2024
As mentioned above, NASCAR returns to Chicago for the street race in 2024, hoping for some better weather this time.
In 2023, rain dampened the event throughout the weekend forcing some delays. It was out of their control but it was still a disappointing result. However, they get the chance to impress again this year with the event in Grant Park and let’s hope there is some awesome racing and the chance to score some Jordan Brand gear in the process with activations throughout the week.
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