Paint schemes on NASCAR cars have been hitting the mark lately. Back in Talladega, we saw the Stewart-Haas Racing cars sport the colors from the Hollywood blockbuster “Talladega Nights”. A week prior to that, we saw 23XI Racing pay homage to one of the biggest basketball stars – Luka Dončić. The No. 45 car of Tyler Reddick featured green, white and black along with the Jumpman logo in Texas. And as per the latest revelations, the Denny Hamlin-Michael Jordan partnership doesn’t seem to be done with schemes connecting the worlds of NASCAR and basketball.

The racing outfit recently unveiled the colors that will be on Reddick’s car in Las Vegas. Though fans have been going berserk over the unique design, a section of the base wonders if everything is in order at the 23XI garage.

The incredible Jordan 8 paint scheme for Michael Jordan’s No. 45 car

The paint schemes for Tyler Reddick’s cars have been on fire this season. The coming weekend isn’t going to be different. Last week at the Charlotte Roval, he drove a car that served the Air Jordan 5 “Grape” colorway. In the upcoming race in Las Vegas, his car will be adorned with the colors of the Retro Jordan 8. When Michael Jordan entered NASCAR, many such collaborations were expected, and it has now become a permanent reality. The multi-color scheme will predominantly feature black and orange  in addition to other colors. It will also have the Air Jordan 8 emblem and the Jumpman logo.

The race at Las Vegas will be the first of the round of 8. Reddick had managed to get into the cut after the last race at the Roval and will be the sole representative of Jordan in the contest moving forward. Although many have expressed their love for the new scheme and have been mesmerized by it, the continual usage of Jordan’s own sponsorships has brought up several doubts among fans. As the racing outfit revealed its basketball-inspired scheme on “X”, fans voiced their puzzlement.

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Fans wonder what’s up with 23XI’s sponsorships

With one victory lane visit and a top-5 finish in the Cup Series playoffs, Reddick’s journey to Phoenix has been going well so far. The Roval had taken down his teammate Bubba Wallace with it, but Reddick had pulled up a quick one on the track and finished at P6. We will have to wait a few more days to see how the 27-year-old fares at the 1.5-mile asphalt surface, but the judgement can already be passed on who will have the most good-looking car on the grid. But as always, a few found some snags on the scene. As 23XI Racing took to social media to draw the curtains on the scheme, one fan set the ball rolling and asked, “Is 23XI struggling to find sponsorship?”

The flurry of responses that gathered below were mostly siding with the idea that this was just the NBA legend promoting his brand.

One fan wrote, “Denny said earlier in the year that 23XI had finished filling out the sponsor schedule for the rest of the year so I’m pretty sure this is just MJ advertising”.

For another follower, the idea that 23XI couldn’t get a sponsor was appalling. They said, “You realise Nike/Brand Jordan is a BILLION dollar company and Michael Jordan is a BILLIONAIRE. If anyone has to never worry about Sponsorship money it’s 23XI. This situation is nothing like the 5 and the 41. It’s Nike. It’s Jordan.” Though the shots on the No. 5 and the No. 41 cars weren’t totally warranted, more responses aligned along the wall. But a few saw the other side of things.

One replied, “I was wondering the same thing the last few weeks… but I think with all the stuff that happened to Kurt late last year & probably buying out Tyler from RcR it didn’t set them up In a good spot for a major sponsor for most of the season.” 

Whether or not the Jordan-owned team is in a spot to find sponsors, not a lot are complaining about the schemes. The unanimous opinion has been that Reddick has had some of the best-looking cars this year. Let’s hope that the Jordan Brand No. 45 Toyota Camry TRD Pro serves him well in Las Vegas!

Read More: Conceited Tyler Reddick Steals Michael Jordan’s Victory, Taking Credit for Solving Bubba Wallace’s Biggest Obstacle