NASCAR legend Kyle Petty playfully teased Michael Jordan for leaving early from the Michigan International Speedway, resulting in the basketball icon missing Tyler Reddick’s victory celebrations. The incident unfolded after a rain-delayed race where Reddick, driving for Jordan’s co-owned team, 23XI Racing, clinched his latest win.
The win at Michigan was significant, not just as a statistic but as a tangible indication of the rapid rise of 23XI Racing in the competitive NASCAR field. Founded just four years ago, the team is already challenging giant, foundational teams of the sport.
However, Jordan’s premature leaving on the Sunday meant he missed witnessing the victory firsthand, a point that Petty laughed over during his commentary for NBC Sports.
“23XI, seemingly out of nowhere, four years old, is now poised to take the regular season championship against a Penske, against a Hendrick, against a Roush, against a Gibbs, against these teams that are established.
“These guys have done a phenomenal job. Tip of the hat to Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan who by the way, shouldn’t have left yesterday or he had been back in Victory Lane,” Petty teased.
The race itself was affected by unexpected weather conditions that postponed the final 149 laps to Monday. While Jordan attended the initial race day, his absence on the crucial winning day didn’t go unnoticed.
The race concluded spectacularly for Reddick who overcame his initial concerns about his McDonald’s Toyota’s performance, which had underperformed the previous day.
“We went into Sunday night kind of scratching our heads on our McDonald’s Toyota Camry. Everyone at 23XI did a really good job,” he said.
“We had a good mindset coming into today on what we need. I love running high, and I couldn’t yesterday. I knew that it was important for us to work on that coming into the race today.
“The group did a really good job at that, and we made great adjustments. Honestly, going into stage three we had a tough go of it on pit road, but they had a great catch. Great way to get redemption from one year ago here,” Reddick reflected post-race.
Reddick’s victory elevated him to the top of the points standings, surpassing seasoned drivers like Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott. His performance this season includes 17 top-10 finishes and 11 top-5s – a hefty performance from the driver.
