The Challenge: World Championship winner Jordan Wiseley is taking a step back from the show to compete in another arena: pro car racing.
As if ‘The Challenge’ didn’t give him enough adrenaline-pumping feats to perform, Jordan is now racing cars professionally. Jordan competed in his first official race with the Hyundai team on May 13 at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, per E! News.
“It went really well. We’re getting a lot of attention and I love it,” he stated. “It’s been a whirlwind, but I definitely think I’m going to explore that for a bit. I’ll let someone else have some fun on ‘The Challenge.’”
Jordan first announced his new endeavor May 9 on Instagram.
“A whole new chapter begins.. The kind of terrifying that leads to greatness,” he wrote. “It’s fight or get out of the way. Incredibly humbled and excited to announce that I will be racing in the @imsa_racing Michelin Pilot Challenge at @weathertechraceway with the @deily.motorsports Team!!”
In the clip, Jordan told fans he had “always dreamt of being a professional race car driver.”
“I just never thought it would happen in three months … ,” he continued. “In my mind, this has been a long, long manifestation.”
Jordan started racing for Hyundai just for fun but the motorcar company realized the ‘Challenge’ champ had some skills behind the wheel when he beat out another professional driver.
The former star of The Real World: Portland has been known for his competitive nature since appearing on Rivals II in 2013 with his partner Marlon Williams. Jordan made it to the final but was beaten by CT Tamburello, Wes Bergmann, Emily Schromm, and Paula Meronek. He earned his first ‘Challenge’ win on Battle of the Exes II and went on to win Dirty 30 and War of the Worlds 2.
Jordan also made it to the final in last season’s Ride or Dies, only to lose to his former fiancée, Tori Deal, and her partner Devin Walker.
While his and Tori’s relationship sometimes made gameplay a bit messy, Jordan told E! News, “People can say what they want about anything, but she benefits my game. It’s not like we’re doing it out of just sheer blind emotion. We benefit each other’s game.”
Despite his rocky season, Jordan and his partner Kaz Crossley took home the big win on ‘World Championship’ after a long, sleep-deprived night and a 16-mile run filled with puzzles and an eating challenge.
“Coming down the mountain after we got up there and got our key, there was a couple times that my legs almost locked up,” he told Entertainment Weekly.
After winning the $500,000 prize, Jordan is set on making a name for himself in the racing world.
“For that career, I’m going to give it a pretty good precedent for the rest of the year— Hyundai wants me to race the rest of the 2023 season, which is another seven races from now until October,” he said.
“…That’s kind of how The Challenge has been in my career,” he added. “I’ve always been one to take breaks and going out and exploring other parts of life and my career, and I just want to be as eclectic as I can. I want to do everything. I don’t want ever want to be pigeonholed in anything.”
Jordan made it clear, though, that he isn’t saying goodbye to ‘The Challenge’ forever.
“‘The Challenge’ will always be a big part of me, and by now I feel like I owe it to the game to always come back, at least every few seasons, and just let them know or set a standard, or just check everyone and remind everyone, ‘We’re here to play rough and tough and no cry babies,'” he said. “So I’ll definitely always come back.”
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(Photos: Instagram)
Jordan is extremely athletic but I do not like the way he talks down to women on the regular. I won’t miss watching Tori and Jordan’s ridiculous back and forth that have taken up the last two Challenge seasons.
I hope that CT returns personally.
Yay! I won’t have to watch him on the Challenge for a while. Hopefully never again!