Watch: Tyler Reddick scores his first win on Bubba Wallace, not at the race track but on Michael Jordan’s NBA backyard

Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan co-own 23XI Racing.


Watch: Tyler Reddick scores his first win on Bubba Wallace, not at the race track but on Michael Jordan’s NBA backyard

Tyler Reddick, Kurt Busch and Bubba Wallace (Credits: 23XI Twitter)

Michael Jordan-owned NBA outfit, the Charlotte Hornets, hosted NASCAR Cup series outfit 23XI Racing in a crossover night this week. 23XI Racing drivers Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, and Kurt Busch were at the promotional program. One of the day’s highlights was the shooting competition organized between Reddick and Wallace, with Busch as the official.

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Bubba Wallace was paired up with Hornets Jalen McDaniels, and Reddick was paired with Bryce McGowens in a 23-second challenge. They were tasked with shooting 11 baskets, with the condition that 6 of those should be by the drivers within the given time frame. Reddick and McGowens took up the challenge first and scored 11. The NBA star scored the first 5 and p[assed the ball to Reddick, who scored the 11th basket with a buzzer-beater.

Bubba Wallace and McDaniels got the tactics wrong as they went for fancy three-pointer shots though they offered just one point. It backfired as Wallace missed multiple shots and the lost momentum made him miss shots from close range as well.  They were able to get the ball in the basket just five times.  Kurt Busch announced Reddick and McGowens as the winners while appreciating the opponents’ efforts.

Jordan purchased Charlotte Hornets’ majority stakes in 2010 after the then Bobcat’s owner Robert L Johnson for just $275 Million. They are now worth over $3 Billion in the market and have been successful in the league.  They are 14 in the eastern conference with 14 wins and 36 losses.

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For a team that was set up in 4 months, 23XI Racing has had an impressive start, and the Hornets PR team played a big part in it

Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace
Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace (Credits: 23Xi Twitter)

Michael Jordan got into NASCAR as a sponsor in the past with JGR’s Denny Hamlin, and he became a team owner with the veteran racer in 2021. They entered full-time with Bubba Wallace as the No:23 car driver. In 2022 they added Busch to the roster, and he will drive part-time in 2023 due to his concussion in Pocono. Tyler Reddick replaced him in the No:45 team.

Jordan’s plans to have a NASCAR team were heavily influenced by the Next-Gen car’s introduction in 2022. They could use the new beginning of the sport incredibly well as they scored two wins, both coming in Kansas, one from, each Wallace and Busch. The team still has a long way to go, and adding Reddick to the garage is the right step for the future.  

Feilding and NASCAR team is all about attracting the best sponsorship as it’s not sustainable for owners to fund the whole operation. For that, they need to market themselves, and the expertise of Hornets to the PR team helped 23XI. “With four-and-half months to build a team in the fall of 2020, it was invaluable to be able to rely on the Hornets as an older sibling when it came to things like HR, finance, setting up IT systems and infrastructure,” said 23Xi President.

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