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Tyler Reddick stole the spotlight from the race leaders at the last second and bagged his first win of the season amidst the chaos of wrecks at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, April 21.
The #45 Toyota driver for 23XI Racing came from behind in the 188th lap and managed to avoid the wrecks to cross the checkered flag first and win the GEICO 500.
NASCAR recently uploaded a video where the former NASCAR driver-turned-analyst Kyle Petty reacted to Tyler Reddick's show-stealer finish in Talladega, Alabama.
Petty said:
"I want to talk about Tyler Reddick when you see that in-car camera, that focus that dedication, and that commitment to the hole that wasn't there then was there gosh I can't explain that from a driver's standpoint what that means and what you have to do to get to that point Tyler Reddick got there yesterday." (0:29)
Commenting on the electrifying finish from the 23XI driver, Petty termed the last-minute victory as "Jordan-esque".
"It was a Jordan-esque type of performance where he was so focused he knew nothing that was going on he was the ball that was the basket and he drove through there and laid it up in there but what we saw also yesterday was that commitment and future greatness that we're going to see from Tyler Reddick. I do believe." (0:48)
Kyle also commented on watching the NBA legend Michael Jordan celebrate the win with Reddick's 4-year-old son Beau in the victory lane.
"We also saw Michael Jordan go to Victory Lane that's huge for me that is huge for this sport." (1:07)
"To have an iconic basketball player an iconic individual like Michael Jordanogo to Victory Lane the following week for his first trip with his team 23XI with his driver Tyler Reddick is a huge moment for this sport." (1:27)
Jordan, the 23XI Team's co-owner along with Denny Hamlin, thoroughly enjoyed his trip to Alabama and was seen celebrating Reddick's first win of the season and sixth career triumph.
23XI co-owner Michael Jordan comments on Tyler Reddick's victory
The Talladega Superspeedway victory lane witnessed a wholesome moment between 23XI Racing team co-owner Michael Jordan and Reddick's 4-year-old son Beau. Jordan and Beau enthusiastically celebrated Tyler Reddick's win together after the latter crossed the checkered flag.
The NBA legend also drew parallels between the NBA playoffs and Sunday's race at the GEICO 500. Jordan said during the post-race interview:
“This is the first time I’ve been here (for a win). To my wife and my kids and everybody, yeah we did it! I’m sorry I left you at home. It’s the NBA playoffs right now, so this to me is like an NBA playoff game. I am so ecstatic for the fans who support the sport. We’ve been working hard to get ourselves up to compete against all the top guys. We’ve done a heck of a job just to be where we are." (0:37)
