In Talladega, Alabama, Michael Jordan's new life feels as fulfilling as his old one. It felt a lot like M.J. hitting a game-winning shot, winning the big game, and celebrating like a champion.
Certainly, his championship-winning days in the NBA are far behind him.
But Jordan's current passion is filling that competitive void.
For the first time as a NASCAR Cup team owner, Jordan was at the track to personally enjoy a victory by one of his drivers.
And it was a remarkable win.
When Michael McDowell crashed near the finish line at Talladega Superspeedway, losing control in a desperate attempt to block another driver from passing him, Tyler Reddick sped by to take the checkered flag on Sunday.
Similar to all the times Jordan made an unlikely shot to win the game for the Chicago Bulls.
“To me, this is like an NBA playoff game,” said Jordan, who co-owns the 23XI team with Denny Hamlin. “And for us to win a big race like this, it means so much to me. I’m all in. I love it.”
The winning driver didn’t even realize Jordan was at the track — he’s always rather low-key and apparently didn’t want to put any extra pressure on his drivers, Reddick and Bubba Wallace — but it sure made the occasion even more special.
When Reddick got to victory lane, he was greeted by his boss, who had scooped up Reddick's 4-year-old son, Beau, on pit road.
“In the moment it means a lot, but as he gets older and everything, too, looking back on that, that’s going to be really, really cool moment,” said Reddick, who is in his second season with 23XI.
Beau knows who his daddy’s boss is, but more for the sneakers he made so famous. Reddick plans to rectify that in the years ahead.
“I’ve got to probably play some highlights, some (NBA) Finals matchups, and educate Beau a little bit better,” Reddick said. “Play some old-school games for him so he can get a real good feel of how dominant (Jordan) was in his prime.”
It was undoubtedly a significant moment for NASCAR, which has experienced some drops in popularity but seems to be on the rise once again.
Based on the reaction on social media at seeing His Airness celebrating enthusiastically in the pits, like he once did on the court, Reddick’s victory is sure to have an even greater impact. In addition, the No. 45 Toyota was adorned with the Basketball Hall of Famer’s iconic “Jumpman” logo.
“Yeah, 23XI is very important to this sport, absolutely,” Hamlin said. “It’s good for everything you can imagine. You’re talking sponsorship, your manufacturers, your team morale. It’s just so good, and it is in so many different ways.”
Always one to deliver a well-timed verbal jab, Jordan couldn’t resist taking a poke at his co-owner, who drives for Joe Gibbs Racing and was knocked out by a crash with 33 laps remaining that also took out Wallace.
“Actually, he did a good job of wrecking, so we could get up front,” Jordan said of Hamlin. “That was actually pretty good.”
McDowell started from the pole, dominated the later laps and was in position to give Ford its much-needed first victory of the year. But his desperate efforts to block Brad Keselowski, another Ford driver, wound up costing them both.
McDowell swerved to block Keselowski on the upper part of the track, but lost control when he tried to make an even more aggressive move to prevent his opponent from passing on the inside. McDowell spun, Keselowski had to slow down, and Reddick overtook to win his sixth career Cup victory by 0.208 seconds, with several other cars crashing behind them.
Corey LaJoie crossed the finish line with his No. 7 car tilted on its side, stuck by another car against the wall in front of the grandstands.
The fact that Jordan witnessed the unexpected finish in person only added to Reddick's excitement.
"He's attended a few races, and unfortunately, despite the promising performances, they haven't resulted in victory," Reddick said. "So for us to win a race like that, to be at the front as much as we were at the end and then it looked like we were losing, but then we regained it, man, it's an unbelievable feeling."
For Jordan, the dramatic finish brought back memories of his past, when he won six NBA championships and excelled when the game was on the line.
However, let there be no doubt: The 61-year-old Jordan is now fully dedicated to stock car racing.
"It replaces a lot of the competitiveness that I had in basketball," he said, before quickly adding a caveat. "But this is even worse, because I have no control. If I was playing basketball, I'd have total control. But I have no control, so I live through the drivers, crew chiefs, and everyone else vicariously."
On a eventful Sunday in east Alabama, that was more than enough for M.J.
