WATCH: 23XI Racing owner Michael Jordan and Tyler Reddick have a chat post-race at Talladega
NBA legend Michael Jordan and NASCAR driver Tyler Reddick were spotted having a chat after the playoff race at the Talladega Superspeedway.
The former Chicago Bulls legend is the owner of NASCAR team 23XI Racing, which fields the No. 23, 45, and 67 Toyotas for drivers Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, and Travis Pastrana and Kamui Kobayashi, respectively, and currently has a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing.
Michael Jordan made an appearance at one of the most anticipated races in the Cup Series at Talladega, to cheer on his drivers Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace. After the race, he was spotted having a conversation with the No.45 after his disappointing 16th place finish.
Michael Jordan's team drivers take shots at each other after rumors of internal conflict
According to reports, 23XI Racing teammates Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace are experiencing some friction in their relationship. Ahead of the race in Talladega, Reddick said in his pre-race interviews that he might not lend a helping hand to his teammate Bubba Wallace.
Speaking with Frontstretch, he said:
“I mean you help yourself by helping your line for the most part. If you can get around fellow even teammates, that’s better. So I wouldn’t say it’s quite that crazy like you are not gonna sacrifice your own line just because the guy in front of you is battling around the same position that you are on points.”
In his post-race interview, Bubba Wallace said:
“I hate it for us, hate it for the #45 because I told him when I restart, don’t lift, and we should have just stayed in line and kind of rode it out, maybe until the last lap. It would have been a different outcome. But we were too buried to win the race, unfortunately. So, not a tournament race car, just the right front sliding there. So, no damage, but, all in all, just not the day that we needed.”
“Usually when the playoffs start, there’s at least going to be two or three playoff cars that are going to take care of themselves. Whether that’s failures, crashes, penalties, whatever, (we’ll) try not to be one of those.” You go out and make sure you have a good day.”
It will be fascinating to see how Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin handle the situation with their two drivers taking shots at each other in the media.