Michael Jordan continues to have cause for celebration decades after his retirement from the NBA, as 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick emerged victorious at Circuit of The Americas, winning the DuraMAX Texas Grand Prix. En-route, Reddick became the first driver in Cup Series history to win the opening three races of a season.
As the NASCAR Cup Series outfit is co-owned by none than MJ, it brought forth a congratulatory message from none other than Magic Johnson.
“I want to congratulate my friend Michael Jordan once again! His 23XI Racing team won its 3 straight NASCAR race to start the 2026 season making NASCAR history! 👏🏾” he wrote on X.
This was Reddick’s 11th career Cup victory, and the second overall at COTA. He led a race-high 58 of 95 laps, controlled the final restart on Lap 79, and held off one of the best road-course racers in the field, Shane van Gisbergen, who was chasing a sixth consecutive road-course win. The margin, 3.944 seconds, only looked comfortable on paper. For the first half of the final 16-lap green-flag run, van Gisbergen was in striking distance before Reddick’s No. 45 Toyota Camry gradually pulled clear up the hill into Turn 1.
The victory pushed Reddick to a commanding 70-point lead in the standings over teammate Bubba Wallace. That means MJ’s 23XI Racing now fields three full-time entries and is a legitimate championship contender.
Further, Reddick’s post-race celebration, during which he raised three fingers, was a direct nod to Jordan’s iconic NBA three-peats with the Chicago Bulls. Defending race winner Christopher Bell finished third.
Ty Gibbs and Michael McDowell rounded out the top five while Hendrick Motorsports placed Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott sixth and seventh. Regardless, the win represents a statement of intent for 23XI Racing, who feature the likes of Bubba Wallace (No. 23), Riley Herbst (No. 35), and Reddick (No. 45).
