Kyle Petty Urges NASCAR to “Celebrate Michael Jordan and 23XI” After Tyler Reddick Historic Moment

Ex-racer Kyle Petty has shared his thoughts on the record Cup race win from Tyler Reddick for 23XI Racing at COTA.

Kyle Petty Urges NASCAR to “Celebrate Michael Jordan and 23XI” After Tyler Reddick Historic Moment

Tyler Reddick, Michael Jordan and Kyle Petty (Via the-express.com and IMAGO)

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas witnessed history, as Tyler Reddick became the only racer in the 77-year history of the sport to the first three races of the season. He won Daytona 500, Autotrader 400 at Atlanta with clutch runs and dominated the DuraMAX Texas Grand Prix Powered by RelaDyne at Austin to create history.

Former racer Kyle Petty is one of the many NASCAR insiders that was impressed by the performance of the Toyota driver. In the latest episode of the Inside the Race show, Richard Petty’s son highlighted how his father and legends like Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon and many never scores a three-peat like Tyler Reddick.

From the very beginning, 1949, from Red Byron to Curtis Turner to Fireball Roberts to Lee Petty to Richard Petty to David Pearson to Dale Earnhardt Sr. to Jeff Gordon to Tony Stewart to Joey Logano to Denny Hamlin, no driver has ever started the year with three in a row. Three in a row. No driver. We’ve seen two five different times, but no driver has ever started the year three in a row.

Kyle Petty said via Inside the Race.

Further talking about the point, Petty asserted that it is a moment that is unheard of and pointed out that the community needs to celebrate the team. Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin should get the appreciation for investing millions into the sport and building a successful team. They survived the chaotic lawsuit saga and is now leading the sport to a new era.

This is something unheard of in this sport. Everybody lines up at Daytona the same with the same shot, and it doesn’t happen for 77 years, and Tyler Reddick does it. This is a moment in this sport that we should sit back and celebrate. Celebrate 23XI, celebrate Denny Hamlin, celebrate Michael Jordan and the entire team.

Kyle Petty added.

Kyle Petty explains how challenging the historic moment was for Tyler Reddick

In the same conversation earlier, Kyle Petty asserted that there were no odds that someone was going to win the first three races of the premier stock car racing series. He is cherishing the historical moments as it rare to witness them nowadays.

Michael Jordan, Kyle Petty and Tyler Reddick
Michael Jordan, Kyle Petty and Tyler Reddick (Via IMAGO)

Three in a row, Tyler Reddick, 23XI. We’ve already talked it through. We’ve said everything you can say about it. But this is what I want to say about it. After 70-some odd years — 77, whatever-odd years it is — of NASCAR racing, we still can see history made. We still can witness history.

Kyle Petty said.

Furthermore, he highlighted how tough it was for him win the first three races as it offered three different challenges. He survived the chaos of a superspeedway, a semi-superspeedway and a road course to make history.

We saw it from the beginning of the year. Daytona, Atlanta, COTA. Three different types of race tracks that you have to race differently on. We talk about Atlanta and Daytona being superspeedways, but they’re as far apart as being compatible as any other race tracks we run. Then you throw in COTA. They did it.

Kyle Petty added.

The comments from the former racer are on point, and shows how Denny Hamlin was right to claim no one will match the record in his lifetime. Tyler Reddick has made himself part of NASCAR history and has made a legacy for himself that even some Cup champions might not have.

Also Read: Denny Hamlin Calls Michael Jordan His “Perfect Partner”