NASCAR Insider Slams Michael Jordan’s Team for Holding Back “One of the Best Race-Car Drivers in All of NASCAR”

Today, Tyler Reddick is one of the most skillful drivers on the NASCAR grid. The 27-year-old has outstanding race-craft abilities and is only going to learn more and become a lot better than he is today. There is no doubt that Reddick will become one of the best drivers in NASCAR in a few years’ time. But what is going wrong with him at the moment?

Reddick has only won one race so far this year and at the latest event in Richmond, he only finished in 16th place. NASCAR spotter Brett Griffin believes it mostly has to do with his team.

On a recent episode of the Door Bumper Clear podcast, Griffin dove into what is going wrong with the 23XI Racing driver.

Tyler Reddick Should Win Three to Five Races a Year, Says Brett Griffin

23XI Racing might have one of the biggest names in Michael Jordan as one of its co-owners, but getting things right on track seems to be quite a tough ask for them. To put things into perspective, Reddick was on pole for the Richmond race and was within a good shout of winning the event. Considering this and where the driver stands currently in the 2023 season, Brett Griffin was disappointed that Tyler Reddick has only won one race so far this season. He also went on to outline how 23XI Racing’s strategy played a part in him not finishing higher up the order.

“We talked about that earlier, Tyler Reddick. This guy is one of the best race-car drivers in my mind in all of NASCAR right now. I truly think his talent level is that high, but for whatever reason, he and that team man, they just can’t have a mistake-free race and go out there and get max points and have a chance to win some more races.”

“Obviously, they got the win at COTA early in the year but that’s a team that I really think should be winning three to five races a year with the talent that Tyler has,” Griffin said.

He also mentioned how Reddick missing pit road cost him places in the race, which was down to 23XI Racing’s strategy.

“He misses pit road, runs over the box, now he’s got to pass through [penalty]. Brad Keselowski, you know. Stage win, running up front, obviously having a great day with [Chris] Buescher winning the race, but Brad Keselowski goes in there and screws up like these guys.”

WATCH THIS STORY: Bubba Wallace Exposes the Biggest Problem With Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing Team

Despite having issues with 23XI Racing’s strategy at Richmond, Brett Griffin was a big fan of the event. 

Contrary to Popular Outlook, Brett Griffin Praises ‘Boring’ Richmond Race

While a lot of fans said that the lack of incidents made it boring, Griffin was of the opinion that the race, which involved as much strategy as Richmond, was quite enjoyable to watch.

“We’re here for it. We want high tire wear, we want high horsepower, we want the cars to be able to be racier than what they’ve been and so I thought it was pretty cool that we had a Richmond where strategy played out,” he said earlier on in the podcast.

The NASCAR spotter also mentioned how racing now is a lot more intense than it used to be in the 1990s and 2000s. He stated that the drivers have to work extra hard for every point and that is a treat to the eyes.

“It shows you how hard they’re trying because I came up in the 90s and the 2000s where they’d go out there and ride around at 80-90%, save their equipment, try to keep track position, and that last fuel run, it was balls to the wall. Now it’s balls to the wall the whole race so I thought Richmond was a great race, we had a lot of strategy play out. You know, obviously a lot of natural caution but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad race,” he added later on.

Read More: “Knew I Was Gonna Hit the Wall” – 23XI Driver Tyler Reddick Pushes Too Hard as He Brings Home the Pole

For a lot of viewers, the Richmond race was one to forget. Without much natural caution, it did not feel like there was a lot going on when it comes to excitement. However, a counter-argument could be made, like Griffin said, that seeing how team strategies played out was intriguing. How would you rate the race?