Devon Henry
Michael Jordan said the third one is the hardest to win, but his driver, Tyler Reddick, certainly made it look easy on Sunday.
23XI Racing, co-owned by six-time NBA Champion Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 Champion Denny Hamlin, is making history in 2026 with an unprecedented start to the season. Tyler Reddick has taken the checkered flag in each of the first three races – Daytona, Atlanta, and Circuit of the Americas (Austin) – a mark that no driver or team in NASCAR history has accomplished, turning heads across the sports world and here in Arizona with anticipation for the upcoming race at Phoenix Raceway.
The three-win statement has extra significance after making the championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway in 2024 but failing to win a race in all of 2025. Adorning Reddick’s Toyota Camry in Avondale this weekend will be the legendary Jumpman logo, with His Airness in attendance at Phoenix Raceway. Reddick drives the No. 45 Toyota Camry, representing Jordan’s number after returning from retirement with the Chicago Bulls. And co-owners Jordan and Hamlin have no problem sharing the credit for building a successful team in just six seasons.
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Inspired by the early origins of @Jumpman23, @TylerReddick is ready to chase his fourth straight victory in Phoenix. 🏜️ pic.twitter.com/4xFwH0xAm8
— 23XI Racing (@23XIRacing) March 4, 2026
“I’m proud of the team that we’ve put together,” Jordan said after Sunday’s win in Austin. “Look, I just put up the money. I’m just a competitor. But I think Denny has done an unbelievable job in terms of helping build this team, and I think the team has done a good job of taking on leadership and going out and winning. That’s what it’s about, winning.”
“It’s just a perfect partnership, I don’t even know how to explain it,” Hamlin said. “This doesn’t work unless he gives me autonomy to do it. When the stars aligned and we were able to start this and I was able to get him as a partner, I was just so appreciative of the fact that he says, ‘okay, here’s my percent, here’s your percent, but you’re going to have to build it. You’re going to have to do the work. You’re the boots on the ground.’ That was what I wanted. Where I get the gratification is from building something from scratch.”
“This team had, like, three employees working out of Mike Wheeler’s garage. There was nothing. We had zero. We didn’t buy a team, didn’t do anything. Just built it. This is what we’re doing. It’s pretty amazing.”
The Daytona win added Jordan and Hamlin to an illustrious list of Daytona 500 championship-winning owners, adding a Daytona 500 trophy to Jordan’s six NBA championships and 4 Olympic gold medals, joining former North Carolina teammate, Brad Daughter, as a winner of the Great American Race. Jordan also claimed another one of NASCAR’s crown jewels in 2025 with the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with Bubba Wallace.
Another magical week in @DAYTONA ends in a thriller for the 68th running of The Great American Race!
From the #DAYTONA500, a look back at @TylerReddick bringing @23XIRacing their first Harley J. Earl Trophy at a place he knows oh so well. 🏆 pic.twitter.com/9sZ9rgOVUe
— Devon Henry (@devonhenry77) February 16, 2026
23XI also fields cars for Bubba Wallace (number 23 for obvious reasons) and Riley Herbst (who drives the number 35, Jordan’s jersey number while playing for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League in 1994). Heading into Phoenix, 23XI holds the top two spots in the points standings with Reddick and Wallace leading the way. Now with three wins in the bag and holding the top two spots in the points standings, 23XI looks to continue building on the blocks of a historic beginning of the season.
“Yeah, he reminded me early this week, he does things in threes,” Reddick said after his victory lane celebration on Sunday. “He expected no less today. I was really glad to be able to live up to the standards that he has for us and be able to deliver three in a row. That was really cool to share that moment with him.”
A history-making start actually began with history in the offseason. 23XI Racing teamed up with Front Row Motorsports, making headlines across the sports world with a high‑profile antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR over the league’s charter agreement and business practices. After weeks of testimony and legal wrangling, both sides reached a settlement on December 11, 2025.
The agreement restored permanent “evergreen” charters to 23XI and Front Row, meaning the 36 charter owners now have long-term rights to compete, and included adjustments to how charters are renewed going forward. While specific financial terms weren’t disclosed, the settlement brought an end to more than a year of uncertainty for 23XI and helped solidify its place in the NASCAR Cup Series.
— Tyler Reddick (@TylerReddick) March 2, 2026
The upcoming Phoenix Raceway race carries extra significance. First oval non-drafting oval of the season, meaning there is a lot more stock in analyzing what teams are set up to succeed moving forward. Reddick’s most recent finishes at Phoenix have been a mixed bag, with finishes of 26th and 20th, but earned a 6th-place finish in the 2024 Championship Race. Reddick, a West Coast kid from Corning, California, made the Championship 4 two seasons ago, looks to continue building history close to home in Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 500. But can he surpass MJ and win that ellusive fourth in a row? Well, what matter most to this team is that first series championship in November.
NASCAR storms back to Arizona with a historic doubleheader with INDYCAR at Phoenix Raceway. Catch all the action from the ARCA Menards Series, O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, NTT INDYCAR Series, and NASCAR Cup Series over four days March 5-8. Get your tickets now at phoenixraceway.com.
