Michael Jordan’s NASCAR Driver Claims “I’d Do It Again” After Sonoma Penalty

Usually, you’d think a driver, after they’re penalized by NASCAR for an offense during a race, would try not to repeat the same thing in fear of another penalty. But not Tyler Reddick. The 23XI Racing driver was penalized during the recent Sonoma race when he suffered a flat tire, and instead of going around another lap with his less-than-ideal racecar, considering he missed the pit lane entry, he decided to take a hard right and drive across the ‘island’ to reach the pit road.

This led to a pass-through penalty for the #45 driver. But as he explained later, he had no remorse for what he did. In fact, he argued that if he had to do such a thing again, he would because of a larger reason than personal gain.

Reddick reasons why he would do the same thing again despite the NASCAR penalty

The decision to go the pit road with an illegal right turn instead of driving around the track for another lap was one which Reddick deemed as “the right thing to do” morally. He claimed that while he was unaware of the race leader at that time, he didn’t think he could’ve made his way around the racetrack without causing problems for others.

“By the time I got to pit road, I would have gotten in the way of the leaders, and it would have been a real mess,” Reddick said as per RACER. “I’d do it again, even if I get penalized or penalized worse. I’m not going to ruin someone’s race; especially as it turned out being (Toyota teammate) Martin Truex’s day.”

“I’m really glad we didn’t bring the caution out there by going around the racetrack and potentially changing the outcome for those guys.”

Martin Truex Jr. on the benefit of having Tyler Reddick in Toyota camp

Ahead of the race at Sonoma, which he eventually ended up winning, Truex Jr. opened up on the advantages he’s had since Tyler Reddick moved under the Toyota camp. Reddick is arguably one of the most impressive road course drivers in the sport at this moment, and his move from Chevrolet to Toyota this season has certainly helped Toyota drivers, as Truex emphasized.

“Yeah, for sure it is (a resource),” Truex said. “Especially the simulator stuff and then looking at his data. Everybody was looking at his data at COTA. I guess the benefit for us is that we get to ask him questions and hear about it — ‘Why did you do this, and why did you do that?‘

So it’s pretty clear that Reddick has clearly helped Truex with his experience on road courses, considering the #19 driver went on to win last Sunday. And of course, along with his tips pertaining to data and simulator, the #45 driver took one for the team during the race with his penalty.

Because had he not done that, who knows, maybe Truex wouldn’t have won the race after all.