“The first time I met Michael. I was really nervous, honestly. You’re meeting one of the greatest to ever do it.” These words by Tyler Reddick ahead of the 2024 Cup Series championship race show the core part of 23XI Racing. Michael Jordan, a six-time NBA champion and basketball legend, came to NASCAR to pursue his other sporting interest – stock car racing. Jordan had little contact with this 200 MPH sport before, but his own wealth of experience proved crucial for his team’s success.

Creating 23XI Racing along with Denny Hamlin, Michael Jordan always sought to rise. Quite akin to his legendary stint with the Chicago Bulls, Jordan intended to pass on his winning traits to his drivers. That is how Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick are at the top of their games today.

Michael Jordan’s trail of success in NASCAR

When 23XI Racing opened its doors in the NASCAR Cup Series grid in 2020, it was a slow start. The first few months passed by registering no wins. However, Bubba Wallace charted the team’s rise with his first career win at Talladega Superspeedway in 2021. The No. 23 Toyota driver also clinched three top-five and three top-ten finishes. Despite his spectacular journey with the team, Wallace has faced several hurdles. As if the pressure of being the sole African-American driver in NASCAR’s top tier was not enough, Wallace frequently clashed with his rivals. That included conflicts with fan-favorite drivers like Kyle Larson in a 2022 Las Vegas race and Alex Bowman in the 2024 Chicago Street Race. These incidents enhanced Wallace’s detractors in the sport. However, Michael Jordan’s support helped him.

In a recent interview with Fox Sports, Bubba Wallace divulged the values that his team co-owner has shared. “MJ taught me,” Wallace declared. “We have to not hesitate, not think twice, just pounce. You don’t have time to think about your emotions. I’ll go back to when I was in the Truck series. I didn’t want to be a part of the Cup garage, because everybody was jerks. They had no emotion, straight face.” He continued that Michael Jordan has helped him develop more courage to face his rivalries: “Now I’m eating my words…Just the idea of competing, of putting it all on the line. At the end of the day, it’s something that our egos chase.” This year is turning out to be fantastic for Wallace, as he has collected 4 top-tens and 2 top-fives already.

Tyler Reddick, driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota, feels the same way about Michael Jordan. Reddick won the 2024 Cup Series regular championship and narrowly fell short of his first career title. This year, he has been a quiet force, collecting 4 top-tens and 3 top-fives. Reddick said that is due to Jordan’s influence: “When I got into the car, I knew I had big shoes to fill…In racing, you know, pressure is something that you have to become comfortable with. It’s something that I think I’ve come to embrace…What comes to mind is dedication…23XI has just done a fantastic job here, must be the shoes or the paint schemes…The competitive drive has to just be absolutely through the roof.” Well said! Reddick has never been out of the competitive drive since he started racing.

We agree his NASCAR Cup Series record might not be as intimidating, but things look clearer when you see the individual stats of each track Reddick has raced on. Out of the 27 tracks he has raced at since 2022, he has an average finish in the top 5 for 5 of them- Bristol, Indianapolis, Pocono, COTA, and Charlotte. He also has an average finish within the top 20 at 21 of them! Compared to someone like Ty Gibbs in the same period, things look much better for Tyler Reddick. In direct comparison, Reddick has 6 wins to his name since 2022, while the number stands at ZERO for Ty Gibbs. And this opens an interesting notion: Talent, when given a chance, opens many ways.

Before coming to 23XI Racing, Reddick was with Richard Childress Racing for three seasons. Needless to say, his performance did invite attention. After his first win at Road America 2022, he was establishing an unspoken dominance in the minds of teams. And with a team where Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin are the owners, it will not take much time for him to shoot up using it as a springboard.

23XI Racing has provided a platform to win for both Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick. What it has also provided is a comfortable space for teammates to take friendly jabs at each other.

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Continuing the tradition of smack talk

We all know the bold statesman of NASCAR, Denny Hamlin, who lets slip unfiltered takes about everything that is happening in the sport. Well, guess what? His partner in 23XI Racing was known for the same guilty pleasure when he was in his prime. During his NBA career, Michael Jordan developed a reputation as one of the most belligerent and unfiltered trash talkers in the entire game. He had a habit of verbally obliterating his own teammates. Evidence of such instances is found in the famous ESPN docuseries “The Last Dance,” where Chicago Bulls players recalled Jordan’s exploits. But Jordan had a justification: “When people see this, they might say ‘well, he wasn’t really a nice guy, he might have been a tyrant!’ Well, that’s you, because you never won anything.”

What is more, Michael Jordan has continued his trash talk in NASCAR as well. Bubba Wallace admitted so in an interview last October: “He’s a lot of fun, he’s a guy that you can take jabs at, and he’ll dish it right back, so you have to have thick skin. That’s how I was brought up and raised, and trash talk is half the game, and he’s probably one of the best to do it.” Tyler Reddick also recalled the 2023 Daytona 500 when Jordan did not mince his words.  He said, “He [Jordan] turned to me and said, ‘Man, you don’t have any room to talk. You’re terrible at speedway racing.’ He just kind of took a shot at me, and I wasn’t expecting it. When MJ calls you out about not being very good at it, it’s easy to find motivation to get better.”

Whatever the ways of Michael Jordan are, we all know that they are a proven formula for success. As the 2025 Cup Series season rolls ahead, we expect to see his drivers excel and move forward.