Let the curtains rise for the Talladega Nights, one of the most anticipated races of the playoffs. The playoff race on the notorious superspeedway is set to act as the watershed moment for the Cup Series drivers as they try to emerge victorious. The only pathway is forestalling the Big One, which the NASCAR community is apprehensive of ahead of the race.

Furthermore, the open secret that would lead the drivers to guaranteed success on the superspeedways is through perfect teamwork. The regular season finale at Daytona witnessed an impeccable partnership between the RFK Racing drivers, that led them to seize another victory. However, can this similar partnership be seen between the two 23XI Racing drivers, as Michael Jordan’s prodigy throws light on the stifling condition within the team camp?

Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin’s driver draws attention to the intensifying rift

Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin’s NASCAR team has surely treaded a long way after years of not being able to decipher the playoffs, the two-driver team has finally entered the Round of 12 and is optimistic about advancing to the next round. However, with just two races left in the round, it will be a death or glory moment for the two drivers. While Tyler Reddick seems to stand above the elimination line with a cushion in points, Bubba Wallace has a deficit of two points and is on the verge of elimination.

In order to turn the table and ensure that both drivers are able to qualify for the next round, Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace have to look forward to each other’s teamwork in order to tame the track of Talladega. However, through the pre-race interview of Tyler Reddick, it seems that ‘every man for himself’ is what guides the drivers within the camp as the rift seems to deepen.

In an interview with Frontstretch, Tyler Reddick expressed, “I mean you help yourself by helping your line for the most part. If you can get around fellow even teammates, that’s better.”

“So I wouldn’t say it’s quite that crazy like you are not gonna sacrifice your own line just because the guy in front of you is battling around the same position that you are on points.”

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Bubba Wallace lets out his competitive side as he warns Tyler Reddick

However, this was not the first time that the two drivers have found themselves at odds with each other, and it’s the competitive side that has overpowered rather than being teammates. Both drivers have asserted time and again that although they might be under the same banner, they are also rivals with a common goal in mind.

In an interview, No. 23 from Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin’s team expressed, “Yes, it is nice to be able to have people to rely on and get some insight from, but at the end of the day they are competitors.”

With the hopes of qualifying and winning the championship, Wallace also reinforced, “So we had to go beat them.”

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With engines set to roar on the track of Talladega for the second time, it will be interesting to see if Bubba Wallace is able to maintain his superspeedway dominance on Sunday or if he will yield to his teammate Tyler Reddick, who has already earned two victories in the season.