NBA icon Michael Jordan celebrated a milestone victory as a NASCAR owner after his team, 23XI Racing, secured its first Daytona 500 championship on Sunday.
What did Tyler Reddick and Michael Jordan say after the victory?
Two-time Xfinity Series champion Tyler Reddick reached a defining moment in his career Sunday, making a last-lap pass to take the checkered flag at Daytona International Speedway.
“Just incredible how it all played out. Just true Daytona madness,” Reddick said in a statement obtained by Spectrum News 13. “I’ve already lost my voice from screaming. Never thought I’d be Daytona 500 champion.”
After the win, Jordan joined Reddick and other team members in victory lane before the two hoisted the Harley J. Earl Trophy, according to USA Today and The Associated Press.
Jordan, who turns 63 on Tuesday, will also receive a Daytona championship ring. He said the win wouldn’t be official until he received the customized piece of jewelry.
“It feels like I won a championship, but until I get my ring, I won’t even know,” Jordan said, per AP.
Reddick on the win: ‘It’s stuff you dream of as a kid’
Reddick, 30, from Corning, California, won for the ninth time in the Cup series and the first time since the late 2024 season during his win at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. He spent most of 2025 tending to his infant son, who had health issues, and returned later that year as a runner-up for the Daytona 500, according to AP and his bio on the team’s official website.
He broke a 38-race winless streak on Sunday after driving his No. 45 Toyota Camry in a decision to make a last-lap move that ended in a victory. He celebrated with Jordan, co-owner Denny Hamlin, who is the oldest full-time driver in the Cup series at 45, and other NASCAR stars and teammates, including Bubba Wallace, who was emotional after leading a race-high 40 laps before finishing 10th.
Reddick winning the team’s first championship was a dream come true for him. He said he never would have imagined working alongside Jordan and Hamlin.
“It’s stuff you dream of as a kid,” Reddick said, per AP.. “Now, I definitely didn’t look into the future and know that I would drive for Michael Jordan. But to be able to have someone like Michael Jordan believe in me enough, someone like Denny Hamlin.
“I’m just trying to do my best to live on the promises that I made to them and vice versa,” he added.
Jordan and Hamlin launched the 23XI Racing team in 2020
The victory was a sweep for three team owners over the weekend. For Jordan and Hamlin, this is their first Daytona 500 win together.
“All we do is win,” Hamlin shrugged and said.
In September 2020, Jordan and Hamlin announced the formation of the 23XI Racing team, which has since competed in the Cup series over the last five years. Since then, they had recruited drivers like Reddick and Wallace, who became the first and only Black driver in the event, according to a news article shared on the team’s website.
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