Tyler Reddick Unleashes Veiled Dig at Michael Jordan’s NASCAR Team

Reddick embarked on the third round of the playoffs at a track where his record has never exceeded a sixth-place finish in seven races. In fact, this season’s spring race also saw Reddick finish in 15th place, marking his debut with 23XI Racing. Nevertheless, it’s worth noting that Toyota teams have demonstrated strength on intermediate tracks throughout the season.

Yet, despite this strength, Tyler Reddick has conveyed certain reservations concerning the manufacturer and the crew of Michael Jordan. While he didn’t outright criticize anyone, #45 didn’t mince words either, subtly hinting at his disappointment with the team.

Tyler Reddick voiced his discontent with the Michael Jordan

When drivers fall short of winning a race, or more specifically, fail to surpass their personal best performances, several factors come into play. These can include issues like flat tires, difficulty handling the machine, judgment errors by the driver or crew chief, or problems during pit stops. However, the most painful setback often arises when the racecar itself doesn’t perform up to par. And the root cause? Often, it boils down to inadequate pre-race inspection by the crew.

This very scenario unfolded for Tyler Reddick, as he subtly alluded to in his post-race interview. Without assigning blame, Reddick seemed to imply a connection between his on-track difficulties and the performance of his car, which the Michael Jordan team ought to thoroughly inspect before the race.

In his own words, #45 stated, “We just missed a little bit of handling, unfortunately. We were just really loose. And it just kind of boxes us in what we could do today, but I mean to get an eighth out of it. I think with that was a better finish than what we probably would have had, just straight up on pace, so to get that finish is good for us.”

He further added, “Obviously, you look at it, yeah! We lost ground on the cut line, but with how our car drove today, it should have been a lot worse than it was, so we got something out of it and just kind of minimized the bleeding.” Furthermore, Tyler Reddick has also made it abundantly clear about the path he intends to take in his quest to reach Championship 4.

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Tyler Reddick has made his path clear

As Tyler Reddick had previously indicated to Denny Hamlin, his desire to secure a chance to compete at Phoenix is well-thought-out and transparent. During a media session in Las Vegas, Reddick openly shared his strategy, stating:

“We have paths; we have two ways we can get there. I would like to get there the first way, so we can really focus on Phoenix, but I feel like we have options, so obviously, to win races, you have to run up front all day; if you do that, you are going to score points, so I think they kind of go hand in hand with one another.”

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Looking ahead, both Homestead and Martinsville have posed challenges for the #45 driver, with average finishes of 13.7 and 20.1, respectively. As NASCAR fans anticipate the upcoming races, they can only hope that 23XI and Michael Jordan provide Reddick with a reliable car that doesn’t suffer handling issues, ensuring he has a fair shot at making it to the Championship 4.