The Talladega Superspeedway was chaotic on Sunday, amidst major crashes. But between it all, emerged an unexpected winner, claiming his first win of the season, Tyler Reddick. After coming close to victory on several occasions in 2024, the #45 driver finally got the elusive Victory Lane visit on the high banks of the Talladega Superspeedway. Like a skilled driver, when the chance arrived, Reddick zoomed through a major wreck up front, picking up the checkered flag at the GEICO 500.

While the day was definitely one to remember for the 23XI Racing driver, it seems his dominating performance has also caught the eyes of many NASCAR insiders, including Kevin Harvick, who recently commented on the driver’s stellar performance. 

Kevin Harvick doesn’t think Tyler Reddick did a “very good job” at Texas 

In a recent conversation with Mamba Smith and Kaitlyn Vincie on the Happy Hour podcast, Kevin Harvick expressed his thoughts on Reddick’s first win of the season. He lauded Reddick’s dedication, while also mentioning how the 28-year-old driver had been falling short on prior occasions this season.

“I love the fire and the passion and enthusiasm,” Harvick said, before adding, “The week before, I didn’t think he did a very good job, you know, closing that race out at Texas. He got frustrated on a couple of restarts, made three or four mistakes, lost several positions, and came back with a decent finish.” However, sharing how those setbacks didn’t deter the recent victor, the veteran revealed Reddick’s confidence in himself has been a game-changer.

“He’s driving and acting like he expects to win every single week. He knows that he should be winning. He knows he has the speed to win. He knows that he’s had a couple of opportunities to be in position to win this year and they haven’t won. And this time [at Talladega] they’re in a position to win, and win a race that they probably didn’t think they were going to win until a hundred, 200 yards to go,” the former SHR driver said.

Having said that, if there is one more person that is as happy as the #45 driver after his win, it’s 23XI team boss, Michael Jordan. The NBA legend has been a close ally and confidante to his drivers, Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace, and evidently led the march when it came to celebrating the Talladega achievement. Touching upon that very aspect and revealing how the team owner stands apart from others, Harvick appreciated MJ’s presence alongside his team.

MJ’s victory lane presence shows how much he enjoys the sport 

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23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan was present at the Talladega Superspeedway to witness his team win for the first time. While that’s already special, what’s even more wholesome was MJ’s reaction to the win, which Harvick openly declared to be one of the best things he’s seen in 2024. Furthermore, echoing 23XI team president Steve Lauletta’s words, the veteran said the basketball legend’s appearance at the venue was not only good for his team, but for the sport in general.

He added, “The best thing that I’ve seen this year is Michael Jordan in victory lane and being able to see his own car win. I think as much effort and time that he has put in to be able to actually physically be there in victory lane was a win for everybody on his team, everybody involved, everybody in the sport. Because Michael Jordan, you could hear the passion and enthusiasm that he has for this sport when Jamie Little interviewed him afterwards.”

He also mentioned how other owners hardly make it to watch the race unlike Jordan, and how much that means to his team members. “That matters to a race team; it shows how much he enjoys the sport,” he said.

With the unconditional backing of his team, Tyler Reddick seems hell-bent on performing his best week after week. Perhaps Michael Jordan can soon expect to visit many more victory lane celebrations. How many races do you think will Reddick win this season? Let us know in the comment section.