Tyler Reddick secured a dramatic victory at the Daytona 500, clinching NASCAR’s season opener in a car co-owned by basketball legend Michael Jordan. The win came after rival Chase Elliott crashed while battling Reddick for the lead.
Driving a Toyota for 23XI Racing, Reddick remarkably led only the final lap of Sunday’s race to claim the title. This marks a significant achievement for the team, a joint venture between NBA Hall of Famer Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin.
A jubilant Reddick, the 25th different driver to lead a lap – a new Daytona 500 record – expressed disbelief. “Just incredible how it all played out. Just true Daytona madness,” he said. “I’ve already lost my voice from screaming. Never thought I’d be Daytona 500 champion.”
Jordan, who turns 63 on Tuesday, met Reddick in victory lane for a bear hug before they jointly hoisted the prestigious Harley J. Earl trophy. The basketball icon, revealing he wears a size 13, will receive a Daytona 500 ring as a birthday gift.
“It feels like I won a championship, but until I get my ring, I won’t even know,” Jordan said.
Reddick, a 30-year-old from Corning, California, won for the ninth time in the Cup Series and first time since late in the 2024 season. Winless last year, Reddick was primarily focused on his infant son, who was found to have a tumor in his chest that affected his heart. Reddick opened last year with a runner-up finish in the Daytona 500.
He snapped the 38-race losing streak by finishing one place higher Sunday and winning to start a celebration that included multiple stars of NASCAR. Reddick is teammates with Bubba Wallace, who went to victory lane in tears after leading a race-high 40 laps before finishing 10th.
Jordan wrapped his arms around Wallace from behind and spoke closely into Wallace’s ear in a brief speech of encouragement.
“I don’t want my emotions to take away from the monumental day they just accomplished. Happy birthday, MJ. That’s a massive birthday present,” Wallace said. “I thought this was our week, the best 500 I’ve ever had, and come up short, sucks.
“Led a lot of laps, lap leader, I believe. It was a good day for us, but damn. Try again next year.”
Hamlin was also in victory lane after finishing 31st and falling short in his bid to become the third four-time Daytona 500 winner.
Hamlin, who drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, was involved in the final caution when he and teammate Christopher Bell collided with nine laps remaining. It set up the final push to the finish over the final four laps.
Elliott had control on the final lap after leader Carson Hocevar was spun off the track and it appeared the son of NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott would finally win his first Daytona 500.
Instead, Reddick made a huge surge with an assist from teammate Riley Herbst. He hit Elliott and sailed past to give Jordan a victory in NASCAR’s biggest event of the year.
Jordan was the face of the December federal antitrust lawsuit that NASCAR settled on the ninth day of trial. The settlement changed the revenue-sharing model in the United States’ top motorsports series.
Jordan watched the win from a suite overlooking the superspeedway built by the France family — NASCAR founders and private owners — he just beat in federal court. NASCAR chairman Jim France, who was personally a defendant in the suit, went to victory lane to congratulate the winners.
“I can’t even believe it. It was so gratifying,” Jordan said of the victory. “You never know how these races are going to end. You just try to survive. We hung in there all day. Great strategy by the team, and we gave ourselves a chance at the end. Look, I’m ecstatic.”
The victory marked a Daytona sweep for three team owners heavily involved in the trial. Bob Jenkins, who joined 23XI in suing NASCAR, opened the weekend with a victory when Chandler Smith won the Truck Series opener on Friday night for Front Row Motorsports.
Richard Childress, who testified on behalf of 23XI and Front Row and was the subject of disparaging text messages by since-departed NASCAR chairman Steve Phelps, was the winning team owner Saturday when Austin Hill won.
Then came “The Great American Race,” and Jordan and Hamlin, the two front-facing litigants, got their first Daytona 500 victory together.
Former race winners Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Joey Logano finished second and third as Toyota, Chevrolet and Ford each placed a driver on the podium. Elliott wound up fourth and sat dejected and in disbelief on the outside wall of the track after climbing from his car.
“We ended up kind of getting gifted the lead … and then at that point in time, you’re just on defense. Man, that’s a really, really tough place to be, truthfully,” Elliott said. “Obviously looking back, you can run it through your mind 1,000 times, do you do something different?”
