Michael Jordan & Denny Hamlin Get Snubbed as Their NASCAR Driver Names His Role Models—“Latched Onto What Lewis Hamilton Does”

While there are several captivating drivers in the sport who are favorites among fans for their charming personality or their talent behind the wheel, 23Xl Racing driver, Tyler Reddick is certainly one of the rising prospects of the Cup Series. Although his Darlington outing was a dim one, the driver hasn’t ceased to amaze his fans by dishing out consistent top 10s in the last few races.

Recently, the young talent opened up about his role models growing up. Surprisingly, the 27-year-old didn’t pay lip service to either of his team bosses. The community was surprised to learn about the list as it included neither the NBA legend nor the NASCAR veteran Denny Hamlin.

Instead of the conventional approach, Reddick revealed his role models. The handful of names had an interesting name that caught the fans’ eyes.

Tyler Reddick discloses his role models, the one he grew up watching and the one he looks up to now

Talking about recent events in NASCAR nation, the young prospect, Tyler Reddick, has recently revealed his role models—his mentors, so to say. Recently, the 23XI Racing driver disclosed his favorite drivers he grew up watching.

“Who have been mentors in your life?? These are a few people that I have looked up to throughout my life!” was the caption to the tweet. And the short clip had the driver name his role models. Despite joining one year earlier than his contract in the absence of Kurt Busch, Reddick completely missed out on his bosses.

Michael Jordan, arguably the GOAT of NBA, and Denny Hamlin, a Cup Series veteran with 49 wins under the belt—both were snubbed as Reddick revealed his role models as Steve Kinser, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Lewis Hamilton. Furthermore, this season’s COTA winner briefed about his meeting with his childhood hero, Steve Kinser. 

“Certainly like the first real role model I had as a kid growing up was Steve Kinser. The first Sprint car driver that I got to meet and interact with, I had all of his diecasts growing up as a little kid from there you know on the asphalt side of things, Dale Earnhardt Jr was someone, go figure out like everybody was a huge Dale Earnhardt Jr fan, I was one of those many fans as well,” he said. 

He then names the Formula 1 wizard, Lewis Hamilton. Reddick opened up on his admiration of the Merc driver, “I’ve really grown to love F1 and I really love watching that sport, so I really have latched onto what Lewis Hamilton does, what he speaks for, what he stands for um, and what he does on the race track obviously too, it’s just incredibly remarkable.”

Reddick has produced decent performances so far in the season. While his latest outing at Darlington speaks a different tale, the #45 driver has etched his name at the Circuit of The Americas by clinching the win at the iconic track.

WATCH THIS STORY: Denny Hamlin reveals his cruel desire following the Kyle Larson-Ross Chastain incident at Darlington

Reddick’s rise up the ranks in this season so far

After his shift to 23Xl Racing, the 27-year-old has finally found his spot on the team. While his teammate, Bubba Wallace had a tough time finding the rhythm earlier this season, Reddick quickly proved his worth in Texas. The race was clinical to the driver’s capabilities on the road course.

With 4 wins so far in his career, Reddick is certainly a tough competitor on the roster. His stellar performance at Bristol’s dirt track once again showed his versatility as a driver. As he quickly adapted to the changing scenario of the dirt course, he picked up much-needed points just falling short in the 2nd spot.

Recent races in Kansas and Dover challenged the driver but in the end, he produced 2 top-10 finishes to solidify his spot in the Playoffs. Currently, the driver is 10th in the standings. With several races coming up, Reddick is certain to shine on the big stage.

READ MORE: “I Found Myself Finding Ways to Work Even Harder”: Tyler Reddick Reflects on How Fatherhood Has Changed Him