Denny Hamlin risks wrath of Michael Jordan with NASCAR Cup Series championship prediction

NASCAR Cup Series star and co-owner of 23XI Racing, Denny Hamlin shook the scene by predicting his own driver, regular season champion Tyler Reddick, to crash out in Round 3 - risking the wrath of his business partner Michael Jordan.

While still on the hunt for his first Cup Series title despite an impressive 50-plus wins, Hamlin—who's also behind the wheel for Joe Gibbs Racing—co-owns the 23XI team with NBA icon Jordan .

After celebrating alongside Reddick as he clinched the regular season title, Hamlin has now cast a less than optimistic prediction for the 23XI Racing ace's post-season prospects, suggesting his championship chase will end after the upcoming trifecta of NASCAR showdowns in Las Vegas, Florida, and Virginia.

Back when the year was fresh, Hamlin aired a bold forecast: claiming the long-sought-after crown would be his at last. He remains confident, backing himself over Reddick to land a spot in the coveted Championship 4 roster. "Me, [Kyle] Larson, [Christopher] Bell, and [Chase] Elliott," Hamlin confidently declared on his Actions Detrimental podcast. Hamlin holds strong views on who should be vying for the ultimate racing glory at the final face-off in Phoenix, Arizona, come Nov. 10.

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Die-hard NASCAR enthusiasts, according to Hamlin, prefer seeing the top four drivers duke it out. "You know, the whole, what do you feel about rooting for underdogs? Does anyone really want to see an underdog win? " he questioned boldly.

Speaking about the dynamism in NASCAR races, Hamlin commented: "I mean you tune into the Chiefs and the Ravens, like you're not tuning in for the Chiefs and the Jaguars and you're rooting for the Jaguars to beat the Chiefs. Like, that's not a big – you want your superstars and these eight, I'm looking at them like, damn it, I can't pick four out. Because I'm going to be wrong because somebody's going to stub their toe, somebody is going to win that you don't – I mean, they're all good, they're all really, really good."

After last weekend's collision with Reddick at the Charlotte Roval, which didn’t stop either from entering the Round of 8, he even lauded Reddick. "Super impressive, because when you look at kind of the damage they had on their car, obviously they were fixing something back there," added Hamlin. "The car went airborne, so there's no telling what bent. Certainly, it bent up the left rear tire on mine."

He continued his praise noting Reddick’s resilience, saying: "I don't know what damage he had, but I saw him working under it under caution. When they fix it, it's not going to be back like 100 percent more than likely."

He further remarked: "I mean there's probably all kinds of damage. They did a great job fixing it, and he just did a great job driving. To gain 15 spots in that last run is so impressive."

A victory for any of the remaining eight Cup Series drivers would secure their spot in the Championship 4. However, during Round 2, the field was reduced from 12 to eight based on points as none of the contenders managed to win any of the three races in that stage. The Championship race in November will crown the highest-finishing driver as the Cup Series champion, disregarding all previously accumulated points. It's set to be a winner-takes-all showdown.