Michael Jordan’s “Brutally Honest” Bombshell Turning the Tide for His “Terrible” Speedway Driver

Tyler Reddick has packed an impressive package of five career wins in his four full seasons in the Cup Series. After achieving 3 wins for Richard Childress Racing, Reddick forayed into 23XI. This team was new but arguably the most unique, especially due to the influence of a basketball legend. 

Six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan is a household name beyond American borders. To have him as the 23XI Racing team co-owner alongside Denny Hamlin is a lifetime opportunity in itself. But instead of caving under the added pressure, Tyler Reddick made the most out of working with the basketball star.

Tyler Reddick credits Michael Jordan’s towering influence for his success

After a storied career with the Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan now tends to his love for racing full-time, backing and supervising 23XI Racing. With the added powerful personality of Denny Hamlin, the duo has led the team on a star-spangled path since its inception in 2020. And Jordan’s influence cannot be downplayed, as No. 45 Toyota driver Tyler Reddick emphasized in a recent interview.

Speaking on The Kenny Wallace Show, Reddick initially talked about the NBA star pushing him to do better. “It’s always pressure. You know, I think back to a conversation we had in Daytona a year ago. We were hanging out before the race, and he reminded me. He was like, ‘You’re kind of terrible on the speedway race tracks.’ What will you do to get better?’” Jordan may have put Reddick on the spot, but the driver recovered quickly.

“I’ll talk to Bubba [Wallace], try and figure it out,” Reddick promised the basketball legend. Talking to those on the show once more, the 28-year-old added, “I remembered that, and we crashed with force at Daytona a year ago. So I try to make an effort to get better on speedways.” To do just that, he revealed, “We really dove into it in the off-season.”

Guess the pressure and honesty worked in Reddick’s favor as he started this season strong, winning the Bluegreen Vacations Duel 1 at Daytona. While reminiscing about the same, he added, “[Jordan’s comments] motivated me for sure. That’s one thing about Michael: he’s not afraid to be brutally honest. He’s a very personable guy. He makes the effort to talk to everyone on the team when he’s there, be a part of meetings, he’s just all-round a great owner.”

Michael Jordan once said, “I can accept failure; everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” Well, considering Tyler Reddick worked on getting better at speedway race tracks, his team boss would certainly be a happy man. When the former Bull talked about failure, he referenced his career. “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

Given Reddick’s words and how driven both Jordan and Hamlin are to make 23XI Racing a formidable team, there’s no doubt that the success they’re striving for is just around the corner. This, however, is not the first time Reddick has praised his boss. At a Martinsville race in 2022, Reddick pulled out early due to health issues. Even though he was with Richard Childress Racing then, Jordan checked up on him. That surely uplifted his spirits further.

The best present Jordan could have given Tyler Reddick for his heroics on the track

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Last year, Tyler Reddick became the first 23XI driver to make it to the Round of 8 in the Cup Series playoffs. To celebrate, Michael Jordan arranged for arguably the coolest car livery for his driver. His No. 45 color scheme had smaller logos and was inspired by the Retro Jordan 8 sneaker.

This year as well, Reddick’s car was splashed with colors resembling Kurt Busch’s paint scheme in his last victory at Kansas Speedway in 2022. Incidentally, this scheme also happened to be the snazziest to be revealed in the off-season.

Tyler Reddick is heading to Richmond Raceway in high spirits, as he finished in the top 5 at COTA. He is sure to soar to heights, given that an amazing NBA legend has his back.

Read More: Michael Jordan’s Multi-Million Dollar Dominance Gets Overlooked, Thanks to Tyler Reddick’s $75K Gen 4 Gem