“Someone was going to probably have to pull me out of the car.” Such was the unflinching determination of Tyler Reddick last weekend. The 23XI Racing put his life on the line to clinch the regular season championship, quite literally. As a vicious stomach bug ravaged his stomach, Reddick battled against failing health to wheel his car to the finish line. Yet Dale Earnhardt Jr. believes there was a reason for it.

Reddick’s sordid situation closely resembled Michael Jordan‘s ‘flu game’. Yet Dale Jr. thought Reddick’s ‘flu race’ was no match for the ‘flu game’ which Jordan won. Furthermore, a past precedent exists to complement Reddick’s situation.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. dials down Reddick’s effort

While drivers battled the tricky Southern 500 race, Tyler Reddick battled with getting sick on both ends. His 23XI Racing No. 45 team made a care package for him on a pit stop. Although he consumed the Tums, the smaller Imodium pills spilled all over the car floor. A diarrhea treatment he undertook for taking a stomach bug from his son locked him up. Even in these dire conditions, Reddick was determined – after all, 15 playoff points and the regular season title were on the line. He eventually beat Kyle Larson to these achievements.

Yet Dale Earnhardt Jr. thinks it is not a massive feat, as he said in a Dale Jr. Download episode, “No one’s going to remember this.” In 1997, Michael Jordan fought food poisoning while leading the Chicago Bulls to a Finals win. His three-pointer in the final half-minute drowned the Utah Jazz, and the Bulls won. Dale Jr.’s co-hosts tried to compare Reddick’s situation with that, but the veteran driver snuffed out this comparison. “Jordan had the flu game – Jordan won that game…he scored all these points.”

To further emphasize his argument, Dale Earnhardt Jr. cited Kyle Petty‘s flu in a 1987 Bristol race. Yet Petty was distracted by the urge to win. “They’re like, he’s probably not gonna finish the race…Halfway through the race, he’s running good, top-five. Then a couple of cars come down the pit road. Now he’s gonna lead under caution. He leads 25-30 laps.” Dale Jr continued, “The car and driving the car, particularly in a place like Bristol or Darlington, demands so much focus…it’s such a welcome distraction. And you forget how terrible you feel. Now if Kyle Petty had been running 30th, he would have probably just said screw this, I’m getting out…But he’s actually got a competitive car, and it was distracting him.”

And when you have an owner like Michael Jordan, it is hard not to focus on winning.

Reddick confessed his loyalty earlier

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Tyler Reddick probably had a ton of reasons not to exit the car at Darlington Raceway. Firstly, the neck-to-neck battle with Kyle Larson kept him distracted. Then Dale Earnhardt Jr. pointed out his other reasons: “During the green flag runs, it was probably a welcome distraction. And why he did not get out of the car was because nobody could probably get in it.” Yet the most important reason may be driving for his sic-time NBA champion team owner. Michael Jordan was sweating bullets at the racetrack, crossing his fingers for both his drivers. While Bubba Wallace faded, at least Reddick persisted till the end.

We all remember the heart-warming moment when Tyler clinched the Talladega win. Michael Jordan was beaming with pride, and picked up Reddick’s son Beau and celebrated the moment. Reddick emphasized that this may have motivated him. “It was very apparent from the moment I saw him how much this win meant to him, for him to be there, how much it meant to our team that he was able to share it with us. Michael so badly wanted to get to victory lane. The words that were exchanged were important and cool too, but the thing that was just so obvious to me right from the moment of getting out of the car and seeing him was how much this meant to him and how excited he was to share it with us.”

Evidently, Tyler Reddick is living up to his team owner’s winning mindset. Hopefully, he will not have to endure stomach-ravaging circumstances in his future pursuits.