Tyler Reddick has done something to Michael Jordan that possibly no one did to him during his iconic NBA career: leave him in awe.
Reddick raced to his second straight victory on Sunday, winning the Autotrader 400 a week after his Daytona 500 victory. It marks the first time that Jordan’s 23XI Racing has won back-to-back races, as Reddick left the sports icon speechless following his triumph.
“Holy mackerel!” Jordan told FOX Sports’ Jamie Little as he took a moment to search for the right words to say. “I don’t even know what to say. I can’t say the thing [I want to say]. Tyler did an unbelievable job. The whole team did an unbelievable job.”
Michael Jordan reacts to Tyler Reddick winning the Autotrader 400: ‘Tyler Drove His A** Off’
Just like at the Daytona 500, Reddick wasn’t the only 23XI driver in contention to win Sunday’s Autotrader 400. Bubba Wallace was actually ahead of Reddick entering the overtime laps, sitting in second place to Reddick’s third-place position. Wallace passed Carson Hocevar at one point during the overtime, but Reddick was able to manage his way to the lead entering the final lap and didn’t let up.
Jordan had some conflicted feelings, expressing empathy for Wallace that he wasn’t able to prevail. Still, he couldn’t hide his excitement as he watched Reddick win back-to-back races.
“Look, I wanted [Reddick] to win,” Jordan said. “I feel bad for Bubba, obviously, because he had an unbelievable day. But Tyler drove his ass off, and I’m very happy for Tyler. I’m very happy for 23XI.”
With the victory, Reddick became the sixth driver to win the Daytona 500 and the following race. The back-to-back victories also followed what was a trying 2025 season for Reddick, failing to win a race. Reddick opened up about the difficulties he went through last season ahead of Sunday’s race in an interview with FOX Sports’ Josh Sims, saying he was sick to his stomach but credited Jordan for helping him get better.
The back-to-back wins from Reddick also followed what was a difficult year for 23XI Racing. The team only won one race, but made headlines off the track due to its lawsuit against NASCAR.
Ultimately, 23XI Racing was able to reach a settlement with NASCAR after spending a few days in court in December. Now that’s in the past, Jordan is happy to see that his team has come out of the other side racing stronger than ever.
“The guys worked hard all summer. I know we had our little ordeal, but they never gave up, they kept working hard and this is the fruit of their labor,” Jordan said. “They put forth the effort and for us to come out and win the first two races says a lot about our whole team.”
