Early-season NASCAR races are not typically hotbeds for celebrity sightings. Sure, you might see Dollar Tree’s C.E.O. or Coca-Cola’s vice president of marketing, but any paparazzi that bother to show up to a race in February or March will usually be sorely disappointed. But the star wattage has been turned up a little this year, as the Michael Jordan–owned 23XI Racing set a NASCAR record by winning the season’s first three races—and the GOAT was front and center at all of them. At last weekend’s race in Phoenix, where Team Penske ended the 23XI winning streak, CBS’s Gayle King and rappers Jadakiss and Fat Joe attended as M.J.’s guests. “There’s a little bit more buzz this year,” said NASCAR executive vice president and chief media revenue officer Brian Herbst. “The fact that Michael has been at every single race so far this year—because he keeps winning every time he shows up—certainly helps.”

Of course, this is all rather surprising. Jordan, who has been somewhat reclusive since his playing days, has seemingly tried to resuscitate his image after the ESPN docuseries The Last Dance portrayed him as something of a maniacal, people-eating success addict. (His appearances on NBC’s Sunday Night Basketball, where he fields softballs from a Mike Tirico interview taped months ago, offer a kinder, gentler image of His Airness.) But just before racing season started, Jordan’s team was victorious in a punishing antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR that resulted in a very favorable settlement, though it also led to the summary defenestration of commissioner Steve Phelps. Anyway, it’s a new year and a new M.J., and NASCAR executives are eager to turn the page on that ugly chapter, especially as the success of Jordan’s team is introducing new fans to the sport.

NASCAR’s overall television numbers so far this year are just okay, up slightly from last season. But NASCAR execs are especially jubilant about Fox’s 26 percent ratings jump in the 18-to-34 demo that advertisers covet. “That’s tough to do in a linear environment that we’re in today,” Herbst said. Executives with Fox, which carries NASCAR’s early races, believe that Jordan’s success is helping the circuit in the same way that the Knicks’ success (once a century, it seems) helps the NBA and winning Yankees teams add helium to MLB. “It’s a positive thing for any sport when you have strong teams,” said Jordan Bazant, Fox Sports’s executive vice president. “Obviously, one way to build a team is through star power, and there’s no bigger star than Michael Jordan.”

But even the greatest athlete ever, or thereabouts, has to contend with the traditional headwinds that have stunted NASCAR’s growth. NASCAR’s hardest-core fans have historically rejected any efforts to expand the sport to entice more casual audiences, viewing new race tracks, new markets, and even streaming media deals as gimmicks that offended their purist sensibilities. But Herbst believes Jordan’s success is doing more than introducing new fans to the sport: He’s also been encouraged by this season’s ratings among the 65+ demo, which are also up double digits.

While advertisers generally dismiss the Viagra crowd, Herbst believes their increased interest is evidence that hardcore fans support the changes the organization has made to its playoff structure. In the offseason, NASCAR decided to bring back the “Chase” format that was designed to reward consistency throughout the season. The move has been widely praised by the circuit’s drivers, and those positive vibes appear to have spread to the fan base, too. “There’s an M.J. factor that’s driving some of the growth in terms of relevancy and buzz to kickstart the season,” Herbst said. “But it’s also been a welcome change for people that the shift to the Chase format has been well-received.”

NASCAR is also benefitting from an overall boost in the motorsports market, which has manifested in recent upticks for IndyCar, NHRA, and MotoGP as well. In fact, Fox helped broker a deal that led to IndyCar and NASCAR holding races in the same market last week. Bazant touted the weekend’s success—particularly the way NASCAR and IndyCar collaborated on it—but hedged when asked if the two racing series would work together again. “We think that it has the elements to continue, but we’re gonna look at that and really kind of see how we can build upon it,” he said. “It felt like a motorsports convention for the weekend.”

On copyright issues: “I saw that Casey Wasserman rebranded his agency ‘The Team.’ I wonder if he knows that there is a European agency called ‘TEAM Marketing’ that has repped the UEFA Champions League for more than 30 years. I suspect TEAM Marketing will be sending Casey a letter, if it hasn’t already.” —A sports business veteran

On the Big Four: “I had to laugh when Gary Bettman told you that the NHL has ‘the best competitive balance of the four major sports.’ It’s always funny hearing the runt of the traditional Big Four leagues insecurely state, ‘Hey, we’re in the Big Four,’ so that everyone remembers. You never see the NBA or the MLB do this. Gotta let MLS know their place. (P.S.: It’s been a Big Five for some time now.)” —A Varsity subscriber

Have a great weekend. See you Monday,
John