As it turns out, two weeks were not enough. Joey Logano had three whole weeks to prepare for the penultimate final round in Phoenix after winning Las Vegas. On the other hand, Tyler Reddick had two – following his fierce charge for the win in Homestead-Miami. However, the No. 45 Toyota driver could not deliver to ‘His Airness’ even as the latter faced a dire situation in the courtroom.

Michael Jordan’s 4-year-old 23XI Racing team is walking on eggshells. After this team and Front Row Motorsports filed for a preliminary injunction to guarantee their charter spots for 2025, the federal court recently denied that motion. On top of this tragic state of affairs, Reddick is coping with a disappointing P6 finish at the 1-mile oval Avondale, Arizona circuit.

Tyler Reddick dejectedly hangs his head

Well, if the #45 team hoisted the Cup Series silverware on Victory Lane, it would have been a real statement night for 23XI Racing. NASCAR President Steve Phelps handing the Bill France Cup to the most rebellious team’s driver? Michael Jordan would have gotten a good laugh out of it. However, Tyler Reddick’s playoff competitors wore an edge over others in Phoenix. Joey Logano started the race in second place and lingered around the top throughout. Meanwhile, Reddick started 10th and could barely crack the top five except for a sliver of hope on lap 212.

In the end, a 6th-place finish was all that Tyler Reddick could afford, as all three of his Final Four competitors clinched podium finishes. In a post-race interview, Michael Jordan’s stud expanded on his first championship experience. “Yeah, I think our pace came to be better throughout the day. There was that one time when we were behind the other championship cars. It is kind of a (memorable) way over time. It was good to hear from us and everyone at 23XI to get to championship 4. Had a shot at it, it was nice.” Usually a short-track expert, Reddick gave his all into preparing for Phoenix. “We had a little idea to get better at Phoenix. Obviously, had to be motivated to do that, knowing the championship’s here.”

Tyler Reddick missed tough opportunities to grab the race by its neck. He lost a battle with Ryan Blaney in the final 20 laps of the first stage when the latter overtook him. Then, Reddick admitted he had a solid chance after the last caution caused by Zane Smith. “I was just trying to pass him on the restarts…hoped I could hold him off in the long run…Almost (stepped off) the 12…forward it, you know, that last restart in particular. I gotta attend the 12 and the 9 kind of washed up. So gotta be aggressive…I feel like I had my best shot at trying to get ahead of the others.” Ultimately, he hung his face in disappointment. “We fought really hard so…Obviously, when you come here, you wanna leave a champion.” 

Despite the harsh blow to the team, Denny Hamlin did not hold huge expectations from his driver and wanted him to experience his first Championship 4 in a way Hamlin wished he did.

His team rooted for him no matter what

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The NASCAR lawsuit currently looks to be going south. However, 23XI Racing did not leave any stone unturned in keeping Tyler Reddick motivated. JR Houston, an engineer for Bubba Wallace’s No. 23 car, was dedicated to pushing Reddick. Working in lockstep, both teams tried out car setups and driving techniques to filter out the best. “I would say 90% of our weekend is focused on making sure they’re getting everything that they need,” Houston said. The time between practice and qualifying included debriefs and discussions about how to adjust car setups. Denny Hamlin also helped out with his own No. 11 Toyota setup.

Additionally, the 23XI Racing co-owner offered words of motivation to fuel Reddick’s drive for the championship round. “Tyler’s really good about that. He’s certainly very good about asking questions to a given driver on whatever track they might be good at to try to find out what he needs to look for,” Hamlin said. Then he emphasized the important thing is to relish the race, whatever the outcome. “So much of it is about just having fun and enjoying this process and this week, and understanding that you know, making the (Championship) Four is most of the drivers’ goals. What happens in one race, winner-take-all? You know, some things are going to be out of your control there, but just, you know, making sure you spend the week, you know, having fun, enjoying it, enjoying the process. That would be my advice.” 

Hamlin reminisced about his first Championship 4 experience and emphasized taking the moment in, “Truthfully, I think that my first time having a shot in the last race, I didn’t enjoy the moment quite as much as I probably should have because I was nervous… It’s hard not to get nervous.” It definitely seemed like Reddick tried to shake off those nerves with some aggressive driving, but he could never really make it to the front of the pack and stay there.

Despite this solid cushioning behind his back, Tyler Reddick could not achieve his heart’s wish. Now let us wait and see if he gets another chance to hold that silverware, considering his team’s jittery situation.