Michael Jordan appeared to keep his distance from Tyler Reddick’s family on Sunday as their NASCAR team celebrated their second victory in as many weeks.
Last week, the NBA icon’s interaction with Reddick’s six-year-old son, Beau, after they won the Daytona 500 divided social media.
Reddick had emerged from a wild final lap to win NASCAR’s biggest race in a car owned by the basketball icon.
Jordan was then caught on camera appearing to grab at the young child’s lower back and bottom area as they celebrated on the podium.
Some critics questioned his actions, but Jordan’s defenders claimed he was trying to remove ice that had fallen down Beau’s shirt during the wild celebrations.
But a week later, Reddick reigned supreme again. This time their 23XI Racing team won a thriller at Echo Park Speedway.
Michael Jordan appeared to steer clear of driver Tyler Reddick’s family celebrations on Sunday
The NBA legend was all smiles as his team won their second race in as many weeks
While Jordan and Reddick embraced at the finish line, the NBA icon couldn’t be seen in a large team photo or in celebratory pictures with Reddick and his family. It is unclear if they celebrated together behind the scenes.
On Tuesday, Reddick spoke out about the incident at the Daytona 500 during an appearance on Stephen A. Smith’s Sirius XM radio show.
‘From my perspective, I’ve gotten to know Michael and his family very well over the years I’ve been here with 23XI, and I don’t see what other people see when it comes to this,’ Reddick said.
‘For me, it’s a huge moment; this is the biggest moment of my career. It’s a huge moment for my family and for his family.
‘And I just put that off to the side and think about the look on (Michael Jordan’s wife) Yvette’s face and the whole family and his whole group when they got to victory lane too, and just how happy everybody was celebrating together. So, that’s where I’m at with it.’
Follow Sunday’s win, Jordan´s team now has the top two drivers in the Cup Series points standings with Reddick and Bubba Wallace.
‘The guys worked hard all summer, and I know we had our little ordeal,’ Jordan said after Reddick´s victory Sunday, referring to the bruising court battle that ended with him making peace with NASCAR CEO and chairman Jim France.
‘They kept working hard and this is the fruit of their labor. They put forth the effort, and for us to come out and win the first two races says a lot about our whole team.’
Reddick and his six-year-old son Beau smile for the cameras after his victory in Georgia
Jordan didn’t appear to be in any of the 23XI Racing team photos after their latest victory
Reddick put on another dazzling performance the week after he became the fourth driver in history to win the Daytona 500 by leading only the final lap.
This time, he led a race-high 53 laps on the 1.54-mile oval south of Atlanta – including the final two in a double-overtime restart.
He snatched the lead from Wallace despite the right-front fender of his No. 45 Toyota being damaged in a nine-car crash on the 224th of a scheduled 260 laps. Reddick fell two laps down for repairs but came roaring back from 27th for his 10th career victory.
‘I mean, that´s crazy, ain´t it?’ said Reddick, who became the first driver since Matt Kenseth in 2009 to win the first two NASCAR Cup Series races of the season. ‘I just found a way to get back in the top five, and I tried to stay committed to somebody.’
