Jordan Brand Gaining Speed With NASCAR

When you think of Michael Jordan, many things might come to mind. Legend. Greatness. Gravity defiance. Basketball in general is an obvious one. NASCAR, however, isn’t usually at the top of the list. But Nike’s Jordan Brand and motorsports are becoming more and more congruous.

Driver Denny Hamlin, currently No. 1 in the NASCAR power rankings, signed with Jordan Brand in 2011. This week he hopped behind the wheel of NBA.com’s Monday morning column, The Morning Tip, to give a little bit of insight to his relationship with the mega athletic apparel brand. Hamlin is a big-time basketball fan who has a full court with lights and a scoreboard at his house. He has had courtside seats at Charlotte Bobcats games dating back to 2007. In 2010, Jordan, the owner of the team, recognized the driver at a game and the two struck up a friendship. Jordan, who founded Michael Jordan Motorsports (MJM) in 2004, agreed to let Hamlin rep his brand, marking the first sneaker brand sponsorship in the NASCAR circuit since Adidas sponsored Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in 2007.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/lancemadden/2012/09/11/jordan-brand-gaining-speed-with-nascar/