Tyler Reddick secured his fourth win of the NASCAR Cup Series by overcoming a lot of adversity at Darlington. His alternators malfunctioned, and with them gone, Reddick had some big decisions to make. Either pit and risk losing or make an adjustment by cutting off his cool suit on a warm day in South Carolina. Despite the serious health risk involved, Reddick choosing the latter proved to be the difference on the day.

Tyler Reddick endured intense heat to secure the win

“For us to have to battle through the alternator issue and not lose a lap and be able to score stage points at every stage, and then I mean we were faced with the decision there at the start of Stage 3, ‘Do we pit?’ play it safe or do we try and win this thing,” said Reddick after the race. “I was like, I’ll cut everything off [cool suit.] I was willing to pass out in the car if that’s what it took to try and win this race today.”

With multiple top-five finishes at Darlington, Reddick came close to winning at the track previously, but never went all the way. However, he was ready to go the distance and sacrifice his health to win the race in South Carolina this time.

“It took everything, all of my second place, third, fourths, all of my what could have been days, nights that I have had in Darlington, motivated me to push through it, fight through it,” said Reddick when asked what it took to keep fighting despite the setback. “I was willing to sacrifice everything to win this race today. I wasn’t going to let heat, I wasn’t going to let issues with the car, I wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of that.”

Reddick became only the third driver since Dale Earnhardt and Bill Elliott to win four of the first six NASCAR Cup Series events. His display proved to everyone how committed Reddick was to winning, especially to his owner, Michael Jordan.

Jordan heaps praise on Reddick’s performance at Darlington

While Denny Hamlin plays a big role in 23XI racing strategy, Jordan doesn’t fall short of showing his support for the drivers. After his resilient display, the six-time NBA champion praised Tyler Reddick and also gave the entire team credit for the performance.

“You never know what’s going to happen, especially in Darlington. The key to him winning was keeping his head,” said Jordan in an interview with Fox Sports. “Billy [Scott] did a good job of keeping him calm, we knew we had a fast car… He kept his composure, and I think he did an unbelievable job.”

Despite his ties to the world of the NBA, ‘His Airness’ is heavily involved in his NASCAR team. He previously also owned a basketball team, but sold it after over a decade of not winning silverware.

However, things seem to finally click for Jordan as an owner in NASCAR, as Reddick could be title-bound this year and help the 23XI racing win their first-ever NASCAR Cup Series trophy.