Denny Hamlin won his first race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season last week at Martinsville. Moments after taking the checkered flag, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver exited his car and stood with one leg on the window and the other on the roof and displayed an “11 Against the World” flag.

Kevin Harvick criticized the move this week, saying the three-time Daytona 500 champion had been getting cheered by fans until he showed the flag, which was given to him before the race by a fan.

On Sunday before the race at Darlington, Hamlin’s 23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan was in attendance and Fox’s Jamie Little caught up with the NBA Hall of Famer. After talking about the team, especially the strong start to the season by Bubba Wallace, the veteran reporter asked MJ about Hamlin and his win the week before at The Paper Clip.

Michael Jordan talks with Denny Hamlin at Nashville Superspeedway.

Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

“You mean 11 against the world?” Jordan asked.

“What did you think of that?” Little responded.

“He’s a clown. But that’s him. That’s Denny,” Jordan acknowledged. “He’s a very confident driver. He is a very confident person. His competitive juice is no different than mine. I mean, I love that he’s gotten back to winning and I want him to win a championship so badly because I think he’s earned that because of what he is done for the sport for so long. And he’s gonna grind it out.

“That’s just the way Denny is. And you know, if you boo him that makes him better. You know, you boo me that makes me better. I mean that’s just the nature of a good competitor.”