We thought Michael Jordan already got the last laugh. Now he's laughing again.

A messy lawsuit that captivated the NASCAR community for the better part of 14 months, after two teams refused to sign the new charter agreement and turned around and sued the sanctioning body in October 2024, finally came to an end this past December, with an out-of-court settlement.

But make no mistake about it; the two teams, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, came away the big winners, and although they weren't directly involved in the lawsuit, the other 13 full-time chartered teams that compete at the sport's highest level made out as winners as well.

NASCAR was, for all intents and purposes, absolutely humiliated during the trial. In the aftermath of the settlement, in which the teams got everything they wanted (and arguably even more), NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps announced his decision to step down, after having spent more than 20 years in the sport.

All along, it appeared like the teams had the upper hand, even though there were several decisions made along the way, specifically during the 2025 season, that were not favorable.

Denny Hamlin effectively called his shot in July, stating that "all will be exposed".

And boy, was it ever.

NASCAR was left with their tails between their legs, and anybody – with or without any experience studying law – could have seen that they were going to lose, if the trial had not been settled out of court. The only way they "won" is because they didn't officially lose.

The whole premise of the lawsuit, without getting into the hundreds upon hundreds of pages of documents, was really quite simple. It was about Michael Jordan, the NBA legend who entered the sport as an owner in 2020 because of an online rumor he had once vehemently denied, challenging the status quo, all to ensure a better future for the sport and its teams.

It was about standing up to the France family and all the others in charge – those who comprised a monopolistic "bully" – and showing them that they weren't the only ones in this sport who meant business.

Michael Jordan gets the last laugh, again

On the lighter side, we've already talked about our tinfoil hat conspiracy theory regarding NASCAR's decision to throw the caution flag with three laps remaining in what should have been Denny Hamlin's championship-winning race in November.

But while it wasn't Hamlin's day to win a fourth Daytona 500 on Sunday, it was both Hamlin's and Jordan's day to win the "Great American Race" for the first time as team owners, to kick off their sixth year in the sport – and first with evergreen charters.

23XI Racing won the race with Tyler Reddick, who led only the final lap after getting a major push from teammate Riley Herbst.

Herbst may have then inadvertently sealed the win for Reddick by trying to block a run from RFK Racing's Brad Keselowski, which ended up wrecking just about everybody other than Reddick in the eight-car lead pack coming to the checkered flag.

But while Keselowski called Herbst's decision "really stupid" and said it was one of the dumbest moves he had ever seen, it ultimately landed Michael Jordan with the Harley J. Earl Trophy in victory lane at Daytona.

Jordan might well have gotten the last laugh in December, or so we thought. Yet just one race after the monumental settlement, he was laughing again, on top of the NASCAR world for the entire rest of the world to see.

You couldn't script it if you tried, and now the GOAT can add "Daytona 500 winner" to his illustrious resume. He's clearly somebody who doesn't get tired of winning, and he has once again backed up the bold statement he made when he and Hamlin started this race team: "We don't sign checks for losers."