Divided within NASCAR, but united outside. Michael Jordan and Rick Hendrick may not be aligned on the new charter agreement. However, the two race team owners put aside their differences to help people at a time of natural calamity. Hurricane Helene made landfall in the state of North Carolina – the state where NASCAR and stock car racing emerged. So how can the sport ignore this?

Hence, the sport’s bigwigs are throwing their weights behind the rescue efforts. Despite the differences on the racetrack and in NASCAR conference rooms, both Jordan and Hendrick joined a pool of NASCAR executives to help avert this disaster.

Times of need stir up Michael Jordan and Co.

It has barely been a week since Hurricane Helene arrived, and the impact has crippled large swathes of the country. It came late Thursday near the mouth of the Aucilla River, just 20 miles northwest of where Hurricane Idalia struck last year. Wind speeds reached 140 mph and wreaked havoc across Florida, Georgia, and North and South Carolina. The Associated Press reported at least 40 fatalities and 4.2 million people affected by power outages. Now that the hurricane has toned down, Michael Jordan and his NASCAR rivals have stepped up.

Although 23XI Racing co-owner confessed to being ‘David facing Goliath’ in charter negotiations, now a different ‘Goliath’ has emerged – Helene. The team is going all out to help distressed people, as it is contributing $1 Million courtesy of Michael Jordan. According to their statement, part of that fund will go to the NC Disaster Relief Fund and part of the Second Harvest of Metrolina. Jordan is not alone – Rick Hendrick equipped helicopters to reach affected areas, along with Joe Gibbs Racing and Greg Biffle’s machines. RFK Racing co-owner Brad Keselowski donated supplies on Monday afternoon as well.

Michael Jordan penned a heartfelt message to restore confidence in people’s hearts. “Our hearts go out to everyone suffering from Hurricane Helene’s devastation. 23XI Racing and I are honored to support the NC Disaster Relief Fund and Second Harvest of Metrolina as they help rebuild lives, restore hope, and ensure that those affected receive the assistance they need. While the process of recovery will take a long time, as a proud North Carolinian, I know firsthand the strength and resilience of the people in this state we call home, and we will get through this together.”

Another NASCAR personality and veteran racer shared a deep dive into the rescue efforts.

The devastation is more severe than it seems

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Greg Biffle is a 19-time NASCAR Cup Series winner – known for his racetrack scuffles with Kevin Harvick and the like. But over the past weekend, he rapidly turned into a local hero as he deployed his helicopters to participate in the rescue efforts. YouTube personality Cleetus McFarland joined him – and Biffle flew a total of 12 hours of flight time between Saturday and Sunday. He discovered that the devastation in North Carolina had been unseen for more than 100 years, dating back to the 1916 flood. More than 800,000 people are out of power and should get their power back on by October 4th.

Biffle shared how he first embarked on his rescue effort. He learnt about a family asking for aid in Banner Elk, a mountain town in NC. “They were renting an Airbnb, so obviously they only had a couple days of food,” Biffle explained to FloRacing. “It’s not like they lived there where most households would have extra supplies. They were with two young kids. They were out of food. They were out of formula. They were out of water. And there’s no power, and they’d been there for a couple of days and really needed to get out. So that’s really how this whole thing started.”

Besides Biffle, these dismal stories are rallying the present NASCAR Cup grid together. Michael Jordan’s and his rivals’ concerted efforts are truly noble. We hope that the people of North Carolina avoid further calamity and stay safe during these turbulent times.