A Michael Jordan-owned NASCAR Cup Series car found itself in Victory Lane at Talladega Superspeedway as Tyler Reddick avoided a crash on the last lap to win the Geico 500 on Sunday.
Reddick stayed in position through the last 40 laps to win the race. Michael McDowell was leading for the most part and battling Reddick for the top spot on almost every lap. It came down to the final moments as the pack drove into the tri-oval.
Tyler Reddick, driver of the No. 45 Jordan Brand Toyota, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 21, 2024, in Talladega, Alabama. (Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
McDowell tried to make a last-second block on Brad Keselowski, but the No. 6 driver got into the back of him, igniting a chain-reaction crash. Reddick pulled through to the start-finish line and was the one who was victorious.
“It didn’t really work out in that third stage for us,” Reddick told Fox Sports’ Jamie Little. “We were able to fight and defend that track position. Wasn’t that crazy, guys? That was chaos. That’s Talladega for you.”
Jordan was seen celebrating with members of the No. 45 crew. It was the sixth career win for 23XI Racing and its first of 2024. Jordan owns 23XI Racing with Denny Hamlin.
“Denny [Hamlin] kept saying I was bad luck when I come to the track, and today we proved him wrong,” Jordan said afterward. “He did a good job by wrecking so we could get up front – that was pretty good. I think Tyler did a good job. Unfortunately, Bubba [Wallace] couldn’t finish. The whole team did a good job.
“I’m very happy to be here to see it. Everybody tells me when we win we could have a good celebration, but this is the first time I’ve been here.”
Several cars were involved in the Lap 188 pileup. Corey LaJoie got up onto the wall and crossed the start-finish line on his side.
Keselowski, Noah Gragson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Alex Bowman rounded out the top five. Anthony Alfredo, William Byron, Todd Gilliland, Daniel Hemric and Harrison Burton finished in the top 10.
It was Reddick’s first win since the Hollywood Casino 400 in Kansas last year.
The race was mostly caution-free until the final stage. On Lap 134, Christopher Bell spun out and collected Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, Justin Haley and Zane Smith in a wreck.
On Lap 157, Erik Jones hit the wall hard, with Bubba Wallace collected in the crash as well. Hamlin and John Hunter Nemechek were also involved.
Christopher Bell, driver of the No. 20 Mobil 1 Toyota, Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, Ty Gibbs, driver of the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota, Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ultimate Fan Contest Toyota, Tyler Reddick, driver of the No. 45 Jordan Brand Toyota, and Erik Jones, driver of the No. 43 Family Dollar Toyota, race during the Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. (James Gilbert/Getty Images)
Austin Cindric won Stage 1 and Joey Logano won Stage 2.