Daytona International Speedway (Daytona Beach, Fla.) — Michael Jordan grew up taking family vacations to NASCAR races. The family — dad, mom, his siblings — would drive from North Carolina to Talladega, Darlington and Rockingham and root for their favorite drivers: Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough. As Jordan said about Yarborough: "He was the original 11. Sorry, Denny." The Denny he was referring to was Denny Hamlin, who drives for Joe Gibbs Racing but also convinced Jordan to form a race team with him to start in the 2021 season. The team, 23XI Racing, was a nod to Jordan’s number for his basketball career and Hamlin’s car number. Jordan, though, probably has a favorite No. 45. That’d be Tyler Reddick, who won the 2026 Daytona 500 with a last-lap pass Sunday. "I'm ecstatic," Jordan said during his television interview in Victory Lane. "I don't even know what to say. It feels like I won a championship." MUST-READ FROM JORDAN & 23XI's TRIUMPH: It was an early birthday present for Jordan, who turns 63 in a couple of days. He appeared downright giddy as he gave his team members high-fives and then lifted the Harley J. Earl trophy with Reddick. Jordan showed similar energy a couple of years ago when he celebrated his first in-person victory at a race. "He loves this race team," Hamlin said in Sunday's postrace news conference. "In [a] meeting that we had just a few weeks ago with the team, I reminded them about Talladega and how excited he was on pit road. "And I was like, ‘Do you guys understand the responsibilities that you have, that you have the power to bring joy to Michael Jordan? You have that power.’" Reddick joked to me after that Talladega win as the much-taller Jordan carried Reddick’s son on his shoulders: "I hope he had fun seeing what the world is like from up there." Jordan beamed with more pride later that year when Reddick won the regular-season title. But this was the Daytona 500, the stuff dreams are made of for those who follow the sport. "I can't even believe it," Jordan said. "It was so gratifying. We had four guys that were really fighting, helping each other out. You never know how these races are going to end. You just try to survive." For those who do follow the sport, they know all about how Jordan had the stature and the wallet and the tenacity to sue NASCAR on antitrust grounds. 23XI and Front Row Motorsports filed the suit in October 2024 and went eight days into trial in December before settling with the result better charter terms. Jordan has tried to say all the right things to move the sport forward. NASCAR Chairman Jim France and President Steve O’Donnell visited Victory Lane to congratulate Reddick and the 23XI team, which earned its first Daytona 500 victory. "It's just cool to see him get the joy out of that," Reddick crew chief Billy Scott said in his postrace news conference. "I can't imagine what it's like playing at the level he did and accomplishing the things he did and then just walking away from it and going back to the things that the rest of us experience in daily life." Well, most people don’t experience a Daytona 500 win, a victory that Reddick obtained with the help of some significant pushes from teammate Riley Herbst. "We hung in there all day," Jordan said. "Great strategy by the team, and we gave ourselves a chance at the end." Reddick certainly gets benefits from racing for Jordan. He is a Jordan Brand athlete and often has paint schemes associated with the most famous sneaker brand on earth. The former dirt late model racer isn’t flashy like Jordan but Jordan loves to win, and Reddick has the talent — so much so that in 2022, Hamlin announced that Reddick would join the team in 2024. But after Kurt Busch’s concussion, Reddick obtained his release from Richard Childress Racing and got to 23XI earlier than expected. "Denny and Michael, those two have believed in me for years," Reddick said. "They've wanted me to be a part of 23XI. It's a mix of can we come through on the promises that I made for them and they made for me type of thing. "They believed in me a lot, and they wanted me to be here, part of 23XI really badly. We made it all work. These are the type of moments that I'm supposed to deliver on them for, and it's just nice to be able to do that." Three months ago, Reddick didn’t know what the future of the 23XI Racing team would look like. They could have lost that lawsuit, putting the team's future in jeopardy. Jordan testified during the trial and that’s where he told some of his story about his love of racing and Yaroborugh. He told me and another reporter when he formed the team about his vision. "My biggest conversation to Denny was I don’t want to ... just go around and around and around and finish 18th, 19th, 20th, 30th," Jordan said. "I want to win. I want to be put in the position for the best chance for us to win. That’s my competitive nature." Less than six years later, he can say he’s a Daytona 500 championship owner. And that has everything to do with Jordan. That goes back to Herbst, in the team’s third chartered car, that pushed Reddick to the win. "Riley did an unbelievable job pushing at the end," Jordan said. "That shows you what teamwork can really, really do. "He doesn't get enough credit. He won't get enough credit. But we feel the love. We understand exactly what he did." Jordan paid $28 million for that charter. Why? Jordan testified last December: "I like to win," he said. "And if the opportunity to possess a third charter, [it means] more drivers, better chance to win." That might be simple math. But only someone who has watched racing for years would truly understand the racing dynamic. Jordan does. And Reddick is thankful. "Just to be able to do these great things for Michael, someone who loves racing as much as he does and is passionate about winning as much as I am or Denny is — to be able to come through on those promises and meet those expectations is the type of stuff that you just love to be able to do," Reddick said. Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
