NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin recently said Michael Jordan is the most famous person in his cell phone.
But that’s not like the No. 11 Toyota driver just randomly has Jordan’s digits. They actually talk and occasionally play golf together, and MJ apparently has no problem sharing his blunt feelings about Hamlin’s performance on the race track and telling him how to drive.
Hamlin — who has the Jumpman logo among the many on his racing fire suit — said he first met Jordan at a basketball game in 2009, and Jordan introduced himself to the NASCAR driver, who’s also a big NBA fan. Hamlin spoke about their friendship on The Dan Patrick Show on Friday, including what its like to golf with Jordan, how many thousands of dollars are wagered when they hit a course and how they first met:
“From that point on, he started texting me almost every other week or so to say, ‘Hey good luck this weekend.’ And then he’ll text me after the race and say, ‘Good job,’ or, ‘What the hell’d you do? Why’d you do that?'”
After NASCAR’s most recent race Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Hamlin said he got plenty of feedback from Jordan. Hamlin — who has two wins this season, including the iconic Daytona 500 — was battling with Kevin Harvick on the last lap, and he kept things clean when he could have easily wrecked the No. 4 Ford driver and won his third race of the year.
Plenty of fans liked the way the race ended, including Hamlin’s decision not to hit Harvick’s bumper and move him out of the way or wreck him. But apparently Jordan is not one of them.
“And this past weekend when I finished second on the last lap, it was like expletive. He was like, ‘Damn it.” He was like, ‘So close!’ He said, ‘You should have moved him.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I know I should have knocked him out of the way.’ He was like, ‘He would have done it to you! You get him first!’ So he’s pretty passionate about it.”
Of course, Hamlin and Patrick also talked in detail about NASCAR and the changing dynamics of the sport. But Hamlin also explained why NBA prospects come over to his house in North Carolina to use his personal basketball court, his not-so-friendly natural face in photos and how Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s wife, Amy, had an incredibly positive impact on Junior’s life.
Here’s his full interview on The Dan Patrick Show:
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