Tyler Reddick recalls Michael Jordan saying he's 'terrible' at superspeedways
Everyone gets reviewed at their jobs. Tyler Reddick just so happens to get bluntly honest critiques from his boss, 23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan.
On the latest edition of "Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour," Reddick told a story about Jordan analyzing his superspeedway finishes.
"We were down in Daytona before the 500 a year-and-a-half ago, and me, him and Bubba [Wallace] were talking something about speedway racing. I can't even remember what I said, but he [Jordan] turned to me and said, ‘Man, you don’t have any room to talk. You're terrible at speedway racing.' He just kind of took a shot at me, and I wasn't expecting it," Reddick told host Kevin Harvick with a chuckle. "Him and Bubba love going back and forth. Michael loves cutting it up, if you will. For me, I wasn't expecting that, and it was a nice thing. I took it the right way. I'm like, ‘Alright, well, I have some work to do. I have some extra motivation.'
"I was already motivated to get better at speedway racing, but when MJ calls you out about not being very good at it, it's easy to find motivation to get better. We tried our best that year, and it didn't really work out. But we went into this offseason this past year, and me and [spotter] Nick Payne, Billy, we spent a lot of time kind of watching how these races would play out, and I feel like our strategy this year on the speedways has been much better."
As for Reddick's performance at superspeedways this season, he registered 28th- and 29th-place finishes at Daytona International Speedway but won the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Reddick is currently tied with William Byron for third place in the NASCAR playoffs (2,059). As for the season as a whole, Reddick has won two races, while racking up 11 top-5 finishes and 19 top-10 finishes.
Reddick, 28, is in his second season driving for 23XI Racing. He spent the past three-plus seasons at Richard Childress Racing (2019-22, full time from 2020-22). Reddick won three races in 2022, his final season with Richard Childress Racing. He then won two races in 2023, his first with 23XI Racing.
Next up on the Cup Series circuit is the Go Bowling at the Glen at Watkins Glen International Speedway on Sunday. The next superspeedway race comes on Oct. 6 at Talladega in the YellaWood 500.
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