Michael Jordan’s Protege Stuns Everyone as He Refuses to Give Up at Historically One of His Toughest Tracks

Unlike some of the NASCAR Cup Series’ top teams, Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin’s 23XI Racing has had a stellar season in 2023, getting both of its drivers into the post-regular season fray. The team, despite the early setbacks in the regular season, mustered on to reach the playoffs.

However, as the playoff action reaches the second eliminator at the makeshift road course in Charlotte, things don’t look good. Despite promising a tough fight, both of Jordan’s drivers are staring down the gun, with points of desperation creeping in. Fortunately for Toyota fans, the team’s ace driver isn’t going without a fight. The #45 driver, arguably one of the best road course specialists of this generation, is simply refusing to give up as he takes the pole in Roval for Sunday’s playoff eliminator, stunning the naysayers and giving fans someone to bet their hopes on.

Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin’s driver shows his tenacity at Roval

Like the popular line from the Hollywood movie series, “It ain’t over, till it’s over,” things are far from over till we reach the end of Sunday’s playoff eliminator, and now is not the time to slack off. Keeping this in mind and visualizing this, Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing showed what he was capable of, claiming his second pole of the season at the tight and technical road course in Charlotte.

While the driver of No. 45 is known for his road racing capabilities, the 2.28-mile makeshift road course at the Charlotte Motor Speedway is one that has proven to be more than a handful for Reddick. If we look at his past performances here, his best came last year when he finished inside the top 10, 7th, while he started 14th.

As of now, both Reddick and his teammate, Bubba Wallace, are outside the cutline with a 2 and 9-point gap. With the narrow corners of the track testing, even the best with Reddick’s boss, Denny Hamlin, getting spun around during the qualifying, the scene is critical for the 23XI Racing duo to pick off a decent performance to keep alive their championship hopes.

However, Tyler Reddick did not let anything cross his mind when he put on a splendid qualifying performance to edge out Joe Gibbs Racing‘s phenom, Christopher Bell by 0.114 seconds. Optimistic about his qualifying run, Reddick shared his thoughts, saying, “We did it, I’m just kidding no, we did a good job, we got his trophy here, Davis was holding. So we are sitting on the pole, mission accomplished, Bubba(Wallace) had a good qualifying effort too so as a team and as a whole this has been a good start to the weekend. This is what we need to get done on Saturday. So I’m looking forward to the race on Sunday.” 

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Despite clinching the pole, anxious Reddick foresees a tough and battering race

Being in dire straits outside the playoff cutline, both Reddick and his teammate Bubba Wallace have qualified well for Sunday’s highly anticipated road race. While the #45 driver got his 6th career pole in Charlotte on Saturday, the No. 23 qualified with a decent P4 start. Despite the points deficit raising anxiety, Tyler Reddick’s exceptional track record is almost certain to favor the driver who needs to close the 2-point gap.

Whereas for Bubba Wallace things are a little tense. Though the Alabama native has secured a 4th position start on Sunday, he will have to pick valuable stage points to advance into the round of 8 in order to make his first playoff entry memorable. During his post-qualifying interview, Reddick also revealed a bit more than what he intended to, hinting at a chaotic race.

READ MORE: Hours Before Intensifying Charlotte Battle, Bubba Wallace Lands Stamp of Approval From Michael Jordan’s Home State

He said, “It’s not going to be straightforward, there’s going to be some cautions at the wrong times but the track position we get now is going to put us in a good spot and we’re ready for the challenge.”