Many of those who played alongside Michael Jordan in NBA has described him as someone who would test a teammate’s mental toughness to come through in key moments. Some failed to meet this high standard. But for those who earned Jordan’s trust, he didn’t hesitate to send them the ball with the game on the line, believing they would knock down the shot.
Billy Scott jokes that while he may be tall, he will never be mistaken for a basketball player. Yet the crew chief for NASCAR championship finalist Tyler Reddick — who drives for 23XI Racing, the team Jordan co-owns — has the full confidence of his boss to make a move should they end up on the basketball court. He’s passed Jordan’s enervating test, something conveyed to him with the highest praise from someone whose career is defined by being clutch.
“He said he’s willing to give me the ball if time runs out, that he believes in me,” Scott said. “Hearing that is what gives you the confidence to keep believing in what we’re doing.”
Similar to the iron will that marked Jordan’s hardwood career, one trait that has defined the No. 45 team’s march to Sunday’s Championship 4 finale at Phoenix Raceway is gravel. Reddick persevered through a stomach bug to win the regular season scoring title; the team overcame crash injuries in a Round 2 playoff elimination race that required Reddick to drive through the field to finish high enough to advance; and a combination of Scott’s sage pit strategy, a bit of luck and Reddick’s skill got them to an incredible win in a semi-final race which secured a place in the championship.
Every time the No. 45 team needed to come up big in the playoffs, they have.
Driver Tyler Reddick and MIchael Jordan celebrate Reddick’s win two weeks ago at Homestead, which earned him a spot in Sunday’s championship race. (Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Jordan attended every one of those races, and saw all those moments up close, either atop the No. 45 team’s pit box with Scott or in the pit stall with the crew.
Having a person of Jordan’s size, let alone someone whose competitive spirit is legendary, watching your every move and expected to perform at a high level can be unnerving. Not so, says team No. 45.
“When he’s there, everybody has a different pep in their step, more confidence. Like, ‘Yeah, this is our guy and he’s on our side,’” Scott said. “Because he’s really integrated into it, he gets it . He studies the sport. I think he knows what’s going on with strategy and decks and flight packs. He understands such things as well as many of us sometimes do.
“He knows when it’s appropriate to say things in certain situations.”
When Jordan teamed up with Denny Hamlin four years ago to form the 23XI, it was natural to wonder how active he would be in leading the team. It’s common for celebrities to own part of a team but have little actual involvement.
For Jordan, however, 23XI has not been a vanity project. And then he sold its majority stake with the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets last summer, his involvement with the 23XI has only increased.
The extra free time allows Jordan to participate in more races, where he engages Scott by asking questions about key strategy decisions.
“He has great insight and asks great questions, and it’s never misplaced or gratuitous,” Scott said. “These are all things that even help us think about things.”
Michael Jordan roams the pit area during the September race at Darlington Raceway. “When he’s there, everybody has a different pep in their step,” says crew chief Billy Scott. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Jordan is also a regular participant in the 23XI’s weekly competitive meeting. He often says little, prefers to listen and only speaks up when he feels he has something to contribute.
Perhaps the most important case occurred last summer. At the time, both Reddick and fellow 23XI driver Bubba Wallace were in a slump, neither having finished in the top ten in any of the previous five races. Frustration was high. Excuses are thrown around. Fingers pointed. Then the six-time NBA champion spoke.
“He listened to it and listened to it, and at the end he gave his opinion on what he heard,” Hamlin said. “And he didn’t like what he heard, and he made some pointed comments about what championship teams sound like and what winning teams sound like and how we need to change the way we communicate and how we shift the blame all over the place.
“It was kind of a defining moment for our team and our drivers to hear and take responsibility for each person’s shortcomings and how you’re going to get better. It was a big moment to change the mentality of our team.”
Dave Rogers, 23XI’s director of competition, nods emphatically when asked about the meeting. It still resonates, he says, a key building block in building the 23XI into a team capable of winning a cup title.
“He emphasizes doing what you need to do to make sure you perform at your highest level and make that game-winning shot,” Rogers said. “And if you make it, great. And if you don’t, move on. He’s all about supporting your teammates when they take that game-winning shot and don’t make it. He’s all about teamwork.”
Both Reddick and Wallace recovered, each advancing to qualify for the playoffs. Reddick finished the year with nine top-10s and one win in the final 17 races, advancing to the semifinal round. This year, the rise has continued. Reddick won the regular season scoring title and earned the 23XI’s first ever Championship 4 berth, a remarkable feat for a team in just its fourth year of existence. And while Wallace missed the playoffs, he has set career highs in several statistical categories.
“It’s really cool to be able to share the tops, for sure,” Reddick said. “It boils down to the passion that people like him, myself, Billy and other people who are part of 23XI have for racing and having that desire to perform at that level. So when all that comes together and you have those great moments, it’s great to share it with like-minded people like that.”
Michael Jordan watches during the September race at Darlington. “How can you not get excited when you make a pit stop in front of MJ?” says Wade Moore, Tyler Reddick’s deckhand. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Wade Moore, the tire carrier on Reddick’s pit crew, played college baseball at North Carolina State and was drafted by the Washington Nationals, playing a few years in their minor-league system. This experience, he says, has helped him adapt to a high-pressure environment where he and others in the crew, many of whom also played high-level college sports, must work under Jordan’s penetrating gaze as they try to beat a nine-second pit stop.
“How can you not get excited to make a pit stop in front of MJ?” Moore said. “It’s awesome. He’s so emotionally invested and that means a lot to us as athletes. To see him and see the emotion on his face, the excitement, the disappointment, it’s all part of the human part of what we do. So he rides it that roller coaster too.”
It’s a bond atypical of most owner-crew relationships. In many respects, Jordan is an anchor member of the team.
“It’s obvious in the way he greets you, just in the handshake,” Moore said. “Because there’s a difference between the corporate handshake and then the athlete’s handshake. He gets it. He’ll be the first one when we tear off a good stop to come and bump us with his fist or congratulate us. But then of course you’ll miss shots too. And when we do, he picks us up and doesn’t come down on anybody. He’s just very encouraging.”
On Sunday, Jordan will be at Phoenix Raceway watching the championship finale, likely either sitting behind Scott atop the pit box or down below with the pit crew, an unmistakable presence alongside a No. 45 team accustomed to one of the world’s most iconic athletes closely observing every movement.
“You have one of the biggest competitors that has this perspective on everything that is 100 percent accurate,” Scott said. “And he’s on your side, in your corner, where if you need something, he’s there. He lives it with you. There’s a certain value in that. That no matter how it turns out at the end of the day, he’s experienced it. He has the same feelings, high and low. It just makes it feel so much more of a united team.”
GO DEEPER
Michael Jordan’s 23XI, NASCAR has first preliminary hearings
(Top illustration: Meech Robinson / The Athletic; photos: Sean Gardner/Getty Images, Logan Riely/Getty Images)
