23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick secured the 2024 Cup Series regular-season championship in Darlington by finishing in tenth place. What made the achievement even more impressive was the fact that he pulled it off despite feeling sick throughout the race. His will to power through physical conditions to complete the mission at hand has drawn comparisons to a 1997 NBA performance by his team’s co-owner, Michael Jordan.
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The Chicago Bulls were tied 2-2 with the Utah Jazz when Game 5 of the 1997 NBA finals took place. The battle went down at the Salt Lake City and Jordan had begun feeling severely under the weather before the game. Dehydrated and weak, he lacked the energy to play throughout the first quarter. He then picked up and willed himself to score 38 crucial points that helped his team win the day.
Reports of the icon being injected with medicine and fluids throughout the game are a famous part of his tall legacy. Shoot forward to this Sunday at Darlington and his driver Reddick nearly recreated similar scenes. He told his team on the radio that he was on the verge of puking all over the car. Thanks to some smart thinking from those in the pit stall, the right food and pills were handed to him.
These two both know persevering through sickness in a big moment. pic.twitter.com/8DGYl87Jvr
— Xfinity Racing (@XfinityRacing) September 2, 2024
The intake settled his stomach partially and allowed him to complete the race. He told the press later, “I held on for dear life all night. I thought it was going to happen. That’s the worst I’ve felt. I don’t know, I guess it’s just a stomach bug or something.” Reddick’s performance gave 23XI Racing a championship in just Year 4 of operation. Naturally, Jordan was filled with pride and joy.
Jordan empathizes with Reddick’s effort in Darlington
The NBA icon told reporters on the pit road, “I know what it feels like to be sick and try to perform, just to do what he did. I wasn’t going around doing 200 miles in a car, I’m proud of his effort.” Reddick’s lead over Kyle Larson to win the regular season championship was by a single point. His desire to gut it out and hold on appears to have left Jordan mightily impressed.
Michael Jordan celebrates Tyler Reddick winning the regular-season championship by taking a photo of the 23XI Racing team. pic.twitter.com/6PBfAZnw1T
— Jordan Bianchi (@Jordan_Bianchi) September 2, 2024
But it wasn’t all happiness for the team this weekend. No. 23 driver Bubba Wallace failed to qualify for the playoffs after getting caught in an accident with 22 laps left to go. He had started the race on pole and led 37 laps before things fell through. Regardless, Jordan added that he was proud of him too.
Reddick now goes to Atlanta for the first race of the postseason. The upcoming ten events will decide if he is good enough of a driver to be handed the title. With Jordan himself in his corner, he has all the arsenal he needs to make it.
