Bubba Wallace claims that Michael Jordan, the team’s owner, has had a significant impact on his career.

Following his departure from Richard Petty Motorsports, Wallace joined the 23XI Racing team, which Jordan co-founded with fellow driver Denny Hamlin.

“M.J. stepping up in a way that he did for me has been — you know, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to thank him enough,” Wallace told People Magazine. “Just this opportunity this year and moving forward. He gave me an opportunity to shine and put my best foot forward.”

When Wallace won the checkered flag in a rain-shortened race at Talladega in October, he became the first Black driver to win a NASCAR race in over six decades.

However, he received controversy after proposing a ban on the Confederate flag flying at racetracks. In June, a noose was discovered in his Talladega garage. After an FBI inquiry, it was determined that no hate crime had been committed and that the noose had been hung on the garage door for at least two years.

Last year, he told People that his parents would advise him to ignore it and keep racing.

“Let’s come back next week and beat their tails,'” Wallace said his parents would say.

Wallace also commended Jordan’s racing knowledge, claiming he didn’t need much coaching from the six-time NBA champion.

“We had to help him get a better understanding for things but it’s been a lot of fun working with him and his team getting everybody’s feet underneath themselves to make sure we’re all doing this right way,” Wallace said. “There are so many people involved that we could be here all day thanking them. But it’s cool having M.J. — one of the biggest names in the world, that I’m associated with. I definitely don’t take that for granted.”

The uniforms of NASCAR racing drivers are currently available at the following websites for a reasonable price: