The NASCAR Cup driver who has impressed the most this season has to be Tyler Reddick. The #45 had a splendid regular season, emerging as the most consistent driver on the grid. In only his second year with the young 23XI team, Reddick won the regular season championship, the first for him as well as his team and co-owner Denny Hamlin.

Tyler Reddick also qualified for a back-to-back playoff for 23XI. However, his playoff campaign wasn’t turning out to be as impressive as the regular season; five out of the eight playoff races have been a 20th-place finish or worse. And ahead of the Homestead Miami race, the No. 45 found himself in the elimination zone. But Tyler Reddick has the backing of 6-time NBA champion Michael Jordan as a co-owner, regarded as one of the greatest athletes in the world. So he was bound to bounce back! But can he now also bag a championship?

Kevin Harvick predicts the Phoenix stage scenario

The Reddick faction was in a pickle entering the Homestead Miami race; he was -30 points below the cutoff line. This urged the 28-year-old to bring his A-game to the track, and that’s exactly what he did! Reddick started from the pole position, won both stages, and eventually, in an epic last-lap battle, took the chequered flag. With two laps remaining, Ryan Blaney led the race, trying to hold off Denny Hamlin. However, Tyler Reddick wasn’t going to be a spectator. He joined the battle, first took Denny Hamlin, and then on the final turn moved past Blaney to take a spot in the final 4. This is the first time in only his 5th full Cup season that Tyler Reddick has made it to the finale race. Naturally, this left Michael Jordan pleased as he picked up Reddick in the middle of his post-race interview. Jordan said, “Yeah, baby! Good job, kid.”

MJ is someone who loves to win, be it basketball, golfing with PGA pros, or being the best in the sneakers market. And now it might be time to get a Cup Series championship after having heavily invested his time and money in the sport. But imagine Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin accepting the trophy from Jim France while they are fighting a lawsuit with him. Things are sure to get awkward, as Kevin Harvick agreed upon in his recent podcast episode of ‘Happy Hour.’

Harvick said, “I mean, just speculating here, but I think it would be much of a great conversation to have if Michael, let’s just say Tyler wins the championship and Michael accepts that championship trophy and that just that awkward NASCAR handoff…it’s going to get very interesting.” Kevin’s remarks come since 23XI Racing is suing the racing organization for monopolistic and unfair practices. In the anti-trust lawsuit, the team has called out NASCAR for not letting them compete in other stock car racing events, having them buy parts from only their vendors, and owning the majority of NASCAR tracks, among other accusations.

This lawsuit is going to surely go on way past the Cup finale. And seeing Reddick get back in form at Homestead, he is a strong championship contender. This might finally be ‘the’ year Denny Hamlin too wins a championship, if not as a driver, then as an owner. And according to Hamlin, he has alright anticipated for things to get awkward if they win. Hamlin had previously said, “A problem I’d love to have is … have [NASCAR President] Steve Phelps hand me that championship trophy in Phoenix. That would be awesome, right? We’ve spoken personally about that, and he said he’d be glad to do it.” 

Whether this happens or not, no one can deny their best season so far.

23XI Racing’s best season

The team started in 2020; earlier only fielded Bubba Wallace, but in 2023 also had Reddick aboard. The team so far has already bagged 8 (Reddick-6, Wallace-2) Cup wins fighting against the sports giants like Hendrick Motorsports, Team Penske, and Joe Gibbs Racing.

• Tyler Reddick was able to progress into the next round among a group filled with former Cup champions, be it Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, or defending champion Ryan Blaney. And Reddick’s not the only one who’s been impressive.
• Even Bubba Wallace is having his best season yet, despite being inches away from qualifying in the playoffs. In the 35 races so far, he has managed to get six top 5s and fourteen top 10 finishes. While Wallace’s regular season wasn’t off to an impressive start, he turned on the consistency switch post the Nashville Superspeedway race, where he finished in 7th place.

Bubba Wallace

After Nashville in the last 15 races, Bubba Wallace has been one of the most consistent drivers on the grid. Only Christopher Bell’s 9.6 average finish in the last 15 races is better than Wallace’s 12.9; even his teammate Reddick is trailing behind him with 13.1. Other championship hopefuls are also lacking compared to the #23: William Byron (13.3), Denny Hamlin (14.3), Chase Elliott (14.7), Kyle Larson (14.9), Ryan Blaney (16.2), and lastly, Joey Logano, who’s already made the championship 4, has an average finish of 18.7.

Clearly, Bubba has nailed the consistency game; the only thing the #23 team needs to figure out is getting wins, like his teammate. If that too gets cracked, the 23XI team will definitely become unstoppable in the Cup Series. Do you think 23XI racing has a bright future ahead?