The 2025 campaign hasn’t played out the way Tyler Reddick hoped. Going into the season, expectations were high for the 23XI Racing driver. After all, not only did he win the regular season championship, but he also secured three wins in 2024, the team’s first three-peat since its inception. But despite having the speed to go wheel-to-wheel against other heavyweights, the No. 45 Toyota driver has struggled with consistency so far, which may go on to explain his lack of wins so far.

But with the FireKeepers Casino 400 on the horizon, could history repeat itself at Michigan International Speedway? Now that the second half of the season is officially underway, a prominent NASCAR insider is backing Reddick to come good before the playoffs officially begin.

Can Michael Jordan’s team get back to winning ways?

Tyler Reddick will feel he has a point to prove. Memories of last season’s dramatic overtime finish will be fresh on his mind going into Michigan International Speedway, a feat he will hope to replicate going into the 1.9-mile oval. Despite finishing in the top five thrice this season, recent results have left much to be desired, even though the 29-year-old seems to have turned his fortunes around by ending up ninth at Nashville Superspeedway. But Reddick needs wins, and the upcoming fixture might be just the place to break his winless streak.

A prominent insider is also backing Tyler Reddick to enter Victory Lane soon. When asked who tops the list of drivers who could potentially win in the upcoming races, Alex Hayden said on the NASCAR Live podcast, “I think Tyler Reddick does. Because he is a driver that can win on just about any type of racetrack and has proven he can do that. He’s an outstanding road racer, we highlighted, we’ve got three road courses coming up. He can run high lanes at intermediate tracks. He’s got high speed. I think 23XI in general has had good speed this year.”

But while the No. 45 Toyota has shown lightning-fast speed, the glaring weakness in the final stage has been there for all to see. As things stand, Reddick has just five top-ten finishes, in comparison to eight at this point last year. Clearly, something needs to change, but Reddick wants critics to focus more on how he fares during the races than just the results, going on to say, “The finishes will come with the more consistent performance.” But in a results-based ‘win and in’ industry, simply performing well might not be enough to secure a playoff spot.

But Tyler Reddick’s strength is his versatility. He won at Talladega, Michigan, and Homestead-Miami Speedway last year, and has secured triumphs on road courses like the Circuit of the Americas and Road America as well. With plenty of venues to race at before the postseason begins, it’s well within the realm of possibility that everything just ‘clicks’ for the No. 45 crew to secure that elusive victory. After all, they haven’t been lacking the speed so far. It’s only the element of luck that’s been missing for the California native.

Trending

1

Teresa Earnhardt Labeled “Wicked Witch” by NASCAR Fans After $2.23 Trillion Earnhardt Partner’s Exposè

2

NASCAR Lawsuit Update: Denny Hamlin & Co to Incur Potential $100M Loss as Federal Court Flip on Charter Deal

3

“There Aren’t Enough Curse Words”: Teresa Earnhardt’s Name Dragged Through the Mud by Fans Months After Earning Goodwill

4

$2.4 Billion Giant Acquires NASCAR Speedway for 7 Years in Multimillion Dollar Deal

5

“He’s Lying to You”- Spire Motorsports Boss Drops Damning Truth Bomb on His Own NASCAR Driver

Tyler Reddick hopes to turn his fortunes around

Over the last few years, intermediate tracks have been 23XI Racing’s bread and butter. But while venues in Kansas, Texas, and Charlotte have served Michael Jordan’s team well in the past, the team’s fortunes haven’t been all that great this time around. Tyle Reddick incurred a penalty and spun off Turn 2 at the Coca-Cola 600 and finished 26th, which was his worst result in the Cup Series this year. But now, he’s hoping to turn his fortunes around in Michigan, on a track where he won last year.

Keeping his hopes up despite a lackluster campaign, Reddick said, “I think we just got to keep working on it. Charlotte, you know, it’s tough to just accept running third, fourth. But hindsight, that would have been much better than finishing 26th where we ended up with the penalty and the damage with the basically spin off of [Turn] 2. So, yeah, it’s there. We just gotta take advantage of the days where we have that speed to win. That’ll happen at some point.”

With the FireKeepers Casino 400 on the horizon, Michael Jordan and Co. need to get their act together quickly. This means that apart from having speed, the No. 45 team also needs to race cleanly, which means no pit road penalties, restart violations, and a sound strategy. Reddick needs to focus on qualifying well and focus on picking up stage points. While the race at Nashville Superspeedway showed some encouraging signs, there’s still a lot to do for the 23XI Racing driver to get back to Victory Lane.