By Miguel Mike Medina
23Xl Racing driver Tyler Reddick wins his first career NASCAR 500 after a winless 2025 season. Reddick never led in the race until the final lap.
Carson Hocevar was leading the white flag, but he got tuned out of the lead. Riley Herbst is the ultimate teammate. Riley gave Tyler a push that allowed him to win the race. 23Xl had three of its drivers finish in the Top 10 at Daytona.
Reddick gave Michael Jordan, co-owner of 23Xl Racing, the best birthday present. Jordan turns 63 on Tuesday. Jordan won six championships with the Chicago Bulls. Now, he’s a Daytona 500 champion as a car owner.
“I can’t believe it,” Jordan said. “It is so gratifying. We had four guys who were really fighting, but were helping each other out. You never know how these races are going to end, right? It’s like you try to survive and I thought Riley did an unbelievable job pushing at the end. That shows you what teamwork can really do. He doesn’t get enough credit. He won’t get enough credit, but we feel the love.”
Jordan is ecstatic, and the team did a great job strategizing and gave themselves a chance at the end of the race.
“It feels like I won a championship,” Jordan expressed. “But until I get my ring, I won’t even know.”
Reddick has been through a lot last year. He had issues in his personal life. It was hard for Reddick and for the entire team. They got off to a strong start to the season. It’s a feel-good victory for Reddick.
“Last year was really hard for all of us,” Reddick said. “When you’re a cup driver, and you get to this level and drive for Michael Jordan, it’s expected to win every single year, and for us to go on that drought that we did made us really look hard in the mirror and just really proud of everyone.”
The 30-year-old and his team worked really hard in the off-season. 23Xl is looking to make 2026 their best year ever.
Ricky Stemhouse Jr finished second in the race. Joey Logano finished third. Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski came in fourth and fifth.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
X: @mmm_sportnfilms, Instagram: @miguel_passionforsports and @themmmjournal, LinkedIn: The MMM Journal, TikTok: @miguelmikemedina
