Michael Jordan is having the sort of February the rest of us would frame and hang on the wall. And so is Tyler Reddick.
One week after conquering the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, Reddick dragged a slightly disfigured Toyota to victory lane again Sunday at EchoPark Speedway, becoming just the sixth driver in NASCAR history to win the first two races of the season. This time, he did it without a right-front fender. Because apparently aerodynamics are optional now.
Driving for 23XI Racing, Reddick survived two overtimes, 30-mph winds with 45-mph gusts, and what can only be described as rolling demolition art. He led a race-high 53 laps, started from the pole after rain washed out qualifying, and held off Chase Briscoe by a crisp .164 of a second for his 10th career win.
“That’s crazy, ain’t it?” Reddick said as he stood at the start-finish line celebrating. “How about that? EchoPark Speedway! I mean, this place over the years, man, you know, it just puts on some amazing racing. Handling matters here, but man, I don’t know. I guess determination, always handling.”
The final restart looked like it belonged to teammate Bubba Wallace. Wallace led the field to green, but a block on the high side went wrong at precisely the wrong moment. The door cracked open. Reddick kicked it in. Suddenly the fenderless Toyota was clear, and Wallace was left trying to gather up the pieces. Ross Chastain, Carson Hocevar, and Daniel Suarez completed the top five.
“Man, I really didn’t know,” Reddick said. “We were back there in 30th after we got collected with the 11. It was definitely really loose, and we were able to make a little bit of adjustment on it with the air and whatnot. I don’t know, they just kept stacking up in the middle and top lanes, and I just found a way to get back in the top five.
“I tried to stay committed to somebody, and I don’t know, I didn’t really have a choice. I had to find out if it was going to go out in clean air like that.”
Hocevar, in particular, chose chaos as his co-pilot. He overcame a flat tire that put him a lap down and a loose window that required repairs, then spent the afternoon making moves that required either immense bravery or a complete disregard for self-preservation. On the first overtime attempt, he tried to squeeze between Wallace and Christopher Bell. The hole vanished, Bell found the outside wall, and we all got another restart.
That felt appropriate. The race had 10 cautions, a red flag, and enough damaged sheet metal to open a recycling center.
Reddick’s own bodywork disappeared on lap 160 when he tangled with Denny Hamlin, leaving his Toyota looking like it had been in a bar fight. Later, on lap 223, Hamlin and Reddick were swept into another incident after Joey Logano got loose and slid up into Hamlin. Seven others joined the party. All but Connor Zilisch limped on, wounded but mobile.
The first stage had been deceptively civilized — green the whole way, 18 lead changes among seven drivers, a record for a 60-lap run since the reconfiguration. Austin Cindric stormed from 30th to win it. That calm did not last.
Kyle Larson’s day ended in a final-lap Stage 2 shuffle that sent him spinning after contact with Shane van Gisbergen. Kyle Busch’s afternoon ended in the inside wall on lap 125, one day removed from a Truck Series win. Joey Logano later spun after contact with Hocevar in what some might call karma and others would call “Atlanta.”
A late crash triggered by William Byron with three laps to go set off an 11-car smoke show and a 10-and-a-half-minute red flag. That paved the way for the overtime theatrics: Toyotas versus Chevrolets, teammates versus teammates, and Hocevar still trying to fit into gaps that technically did not exist.
In the end, it was Reddick — missing a fender but not an opportunity — who escaped with the trophy. Shane van Gisbergen showed his oval appearance was no fluke by finishing sixth, Zane Smith was seventh, Wallace held on for eighth, with Ryan Preece and Blaney rounding out the top 10.
“I’m just pumped that Toyota got in Victory Lane,” Wallace said perhaps trying to put a brave face on yet another loss. “I have to go back and see. I didn’t think I moved up that much to allow — to put myself up top, top of three. Unfortunate, but man, what a race car we had today.”
As for Bell, redemption awaits next week at Circuit of the Americas, where he is the defending winner.
For now, though, February belongs to Jordan and Reddick. And somewhere in the 23XI pits, there’s probably a right-front fender sitting in the corner, wondering how it missed all the fun. And Michael Jordan is speechless.
“I can’t say anything,” Jordan said. “Tyler did an unbelievable job. Both teams did an unbelievable job. I wanted him to win. I feel bad for Bubba, obviously, because he had an unbelievable day, but Tyler drove his ass off, and I’m very happy for Tyler. I’m very happy for 23XI.”
RACE RESULTS
Greg was a writer for DriveTribe supporting Amazon's The Grand Tour and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, and a Masters degree in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek and a regular contributor to Forbes.
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