"It’s something I regret" - Tyler Reddick wanted Michael Jordan in attendance to witness his Michigan win
After winning his second race of the season, Tyler Reddick was asked about Michael Jordan's impact on him. The NBA legend is a co-owner of 23XI Racing alongside Denny Hamlin, and Reddick is their winningest driver so far with 4 wins.
During the post-race press conference, a reporter asked the Michigan race-winner about the impact Jordan has had on him, to which he replied:
"Without a doubt, Michael (Jordan) is a competitive individual. Over his career...what he brings to the table to motivate us, is something that you can’t buy. It’s a great asset for us to have." [9:40]
Reddick was also asked whether he'd had a chance to talk to Jordan after his win, as the NBA legend was not at the racetrack for the race's conclusion on Monday:
"If I felt better going into it, into the night, I would have tried to keep him to stay. I didn’t really know how it was going to work out. We kind of had a subpar day on Sunday. We didn’t pass anybody. We got passed. We lost positions on restarts. I didn’t know how our day was going to shake out," Reddick said. [13:35]
Reddick also said going into the race on Monday the #45 team had a good mindset on strategy and adjustments, which worked out well in the end. Given all that, Reddick reflected, he perhaps should've tried to get MJ to stay:
"It’s something I regret. I probably should have at least tried to keep him to stay," Reddick said. (14:02)
Reddick added that having an owner and competitor in Denny Hamlin is "a great thing." The #45 driver said Hamlin races really hard on the racetrack and there was plenty to learn between the owner-driver and himself:
"It’s a two-way street, right, as it should be. I feel like he’s able to help me with a lot of things I don’t know about. I’m hoping in return there’s things I pick up on that can benefit him and the #11 car, too. It’s been fun, really great," Reddick said. [10:10]
Tyler Reddick is having the best season of his career so far at the Cup level
Even though the regular season isn't finished yet, Tyler Reddick has eclipsed his previous seasons' performances at the Cup level in 2024.
In 2022, which was his breakthrough season at RCR, at this stage of the year, Reddick had two wins, five finishes inside the top 5, and a couple inside the top 10.
This year Reddick has had 2 wins, alongside nine finishes inside the top 5 and six inside the top 10.
It's worth mentioning that Reddick could've had more wins this year if not for late-race cautions. At least on 4 occasions this season, Reddick was the leader in the closing stage of the race and a caution came after which the win seemingly in sight went away from him.
This was also the case at Michigan as a late-race caution forced the race into overtime. However, Reddick persisted and came out on top with his second win of the season, which also put him on top of the regular season championship standings.