WATCH: Michael Jordan spotted having a conversation with his NASCAR driver Tyler Reddick, who exited a smoking car at Talladega

Tyler Reddick has qualified to the R-12 for the first time in his career.

WATCH: Michael Jordan spotted having a conversation with his NASCAR driver Tyler Reddick, who exited a smoking car at Talladega

Tyler Reddick and Michael Jordan (Screen Shot: Frontstretch/X)

The high-speed race at Talladega this weekend concluded with Ryan Blaney emerging victorious. With the increasing pressure of qualification to the R-8, while Blaney achieved wonders, the same cannot be said for 23XI’s Tyler Reddick. His P16 finish has him at ninth in the standings, just one position short of the R-8 qualification. Post-race, Reddick was seen with 23XI co-owner Michael Jordan.

Jordan has often been seen conversing with his team members on the track. He was probably consoling Reddick after a less-than-adequate finish. With one more race remaining in the R-12, Reddick will have to put on a solid display at Charlotte next weekend to qualify for his career-first R-8. His teammate Bubba Wallace lies in a tougher spot than him, tenth in the standings. The NBA legend owner conversed with his drivers on the grid after the race.

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He first went to Meet Tyler Reddick. Jordan waited till Reddick got out of his car before moving forth to greet him. While they were talking and sharing some laughs, smoke came from the right rear of the 23XI No:45 Toyota Camry. A race Marshal was seen sprinting behind the back of Jordan to quickly asses and address the situation. The driver-owner duo promptly moved to the side and continued the conversation as the car had no major issues.

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Wallace finished a low P23, which greatly hurt his R-8 hopes. Jordan was also seen talking with him after the race. Jordan was seen patting Wallace on the back. This came after a potential rift between Wallace and Reddick was seen during the weekend. In the post-race interview, Wallace revealed that both Reddick and him were doing their own thing sometimes and were not racing as a team.

In case you missed it: Bubba Wallace bemoans disappointing Talladega finish, admits he made ‘a wrong call’

Bubba Wallace calls out Tyler Reddick for not playing the team game

Bubba Wallace’s outing at Talladega put a major dent in his attempts to make his place in the R-8. With a P23 finish, he is currently on P10 in the standings. Before the race, Reddick was in a much more comfortable position than Wallace. While Wallace expected support from Reddick, things did not play out that way, as Reddick made it clear in the pre-race interviews.

Bubba Wallace
Bubba Wallace (Credits: On3.com)

Reddick hinted that he was not interested in helping out Wallace during the race. Wallace revealed that he had a plan talked out with Reddick, but the duo failed to follow through with it. He claimed that the race outcome would have been very different if they had managed to stick to the plan.

“I hate it for us, hate it for the No:45 because I told him when I restart, don’t lift, and we should have just stayed in line, and kind of rode it out, maybe until the last lap. It would have been a different outcome. But we were too buried to win the race, unfortunately,” said Wallace.

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