Tyler Reddick raced to his fourth win of the NASCAR season in Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Speedway, and it might have been the victory that impressed 23XI Racing owner Michael Jordan the most.
The No. 45 car started Sunday’s race in pole position and led for nearly the entirety of the final 30 laps, but Reddick’s win didn’t come without hiccups. He had an issue with his alternator early on, which preceded a slow pit stop. His car’s alternator belt needed a look in the middle of Stage 2, which led to a battery change. Finally, there was an issue with his cool suit as that stopped working early in Stage 3.
However, Reddick was able to persist through it all, and Jordan commended his driver for getting through the problems with his car to race to victory.
“I’m pretty sure it was frustrating for him because he had an unbelievable car,” Reddick told FOX Sports’ Jamie Little. “You never know what’s going to happen, especially in Darlington. The key to him winning was keeping his head. I think Billy did a good job of trying to keep him calm. We knew we had a fast car. We knew we had a 30-lap run [and] we’d be real good. We knew on a short lap run, we’d be real good.
“So, we just had to get the car right, and he kept his composure and I think he did an unbelievable job.”
Tyler Reddick, Michael Jordan, Brad Keselowski & more Post-Race Interviews after Goodyear 400 🏁
Reddick said that he was “sweating his tail off” inside his car during Sunday’s race as he dealt with several issues with his car.
“I knew never to give up,” Reddick told FOX Sports’ Regan Smith. “I think it’s very fitting that when we finally get our first win at Darlington, that the lady in black would test like that. We’ve been so close so many times.”
Jordan didn’t seem too surprised that Reddick had that mentality to get through Sunday’s race.
“I just wanted everything to be good. Once he gets back out there, I think his competitive juices are going to carry him all the way to the end,” Jordan said. “Those are the longest 18 to 20 laps that I could even imagine. I just didn’t want to see a caution. A caution would’ve changed everything. But he did the job. He earned it all week.
“I’m real proud of the team.”
