An iconic Michael Jordan photo will be on Tyler Reddick’s car as he races through Chicago

The photo that inspired the Air Jordan logo will speed through NASCAR’s 2024 Chicago Street Race this weekend.

NASCAR returns to the Windy City this weekend for the 2024 Chicago Street Race, with Cup Series drivers starting their engines on Sunday.

One driver, Tyler Reddick of the No. 45 Toyota Camry, will pay homage to perhaps the greatest athlete in the history of professional sports in Chicago – who also happens to own the team Reddick races for.

Reddick’s paint scheme for Sunday’s competition is splashed with purple on the roof and features a young, dunking Michael Jordan on the sides and hood of the car. It’s borrowing from the iconic 1985 poster – which shows Jordan in his unmistakable Jumpman pose – dunking over the Chicago skyline at sunset.

The image was part of Nike’s marketing promotion for the original Air Jordan sneakers. The silhouette of Jordan in that photo later turned into the Jumpman logo.

The Jumpman returns to the iconic streets of Chicago 🏀 pic.twitter.com/DoSdi1zd4N

— 23XI Racing (@23XIRacing) June 27, 2024

Among Jordan’s various other business ventures, he co-owns the 23XI Racing team with Denny Hamlin, which has Reddick and Bubba Wallace competing for it in NASCAR’s highest level. Former 23XI Racing driver Kurt Busch once raced with a cool Jordan-inspired scheme too.

Reddick’s usual paint scheme is centered around his main sponsor, Monster Energy, while the Jumpman logo is typically featured on his passenger-side rear panel.

But this week, Reddick’s car is all Jordan. Fittingly so for a race in Chicago.

Reddick finished 28th at Chicago last year, but he’s been racing exceptionally well lately, finishing in the top 10 in five of his last six races, and winning at Talladega back in April.

Crestfallen Reddick just ‘didn’t get the job done’ at Nashville

Tyler Reddick was a man of few words after finishing third Sunday night at Nashville Superspeedway. Reddick and his 23XI Racing team were in a position to win the Ally 400 by being among the safest on fuel mileage. The team pitted for the final time …

Tyler Reddick was a man of few words after finishing third Sunday night at Nashville Superspeedway.

Reddick and his 23XI Racing team were in a position to win the Ally 400 by being among the safest on fuel mileage. The team pitted for the final time before the first overtime attempt, and Reddick was back inside the top 10 by the time the race went into its fifth and final restart.

He was third in the outside lane, sixth position, at the green and was running fourth when the field came off Turn 2 with two laps to go and took a run in the outside lane to second place coming through Turn 4.

It was Joey Logano and Reddick going into Turn 1 at the white flag. The No. 45 again went for the high lane, but Logano blocked the run, putting the 23XI car into defensive mode with Zane Smith down the backstretch.

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Logano blocked another run on the high side from Reddick in Turns 3 and 4, which was enough to propel him to the finish. Smith then nipped Reddick in a side-by-side battle at the checkered flag for the runner-up spot.

“Everything,” Reddick told NBC Sports about what he would have done different on the last lap. “It’s pretty disappointing.”

The disappointment and frustration were evident. When asked how he was handling the emotions, he replied, “I’m trying my best, but it’s tough. I’m trying to keep cool at the moment; I’m really upset about how that ended.”

Reddick led 16 laps and earned his first top-three finish since winning at Talladega Superspeedway (April 21). It was also his fifth top-10 finish in the last six races.

But he wanted no part in any of the silver linings.

“No,” Reddick said. “All the good cars ran out of fuel and we were in position to pass the No. 22 (Logano), who hadn’t been good all day long and didn’t get the job done.”

Tyler Reddick wants NASCAR to race on the streets of New York City

Tyler Reddick wants NASCAR to race on the streets of New York City. Find out where else Reddick wants the NASCAR Cup Series to compete!

NASCAR has a lot of decisions to make for the 2025 season. Ranging from the location of the Busch Light Clash to the playoff lineup, NASCAR must figure out the best way to optimize the calendar moving forward. However, which places or tracks do drivers want NASCAR to compete at in the Cup Series? Many drivers have significant opinions.

FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass asked several drivers, including [autotag]Tyler Reddick[/autotag], this question, and the answers were fascinating. Reddick advocated for several areas; however, he mentioned one idea that would be shocking and amazing for NASCAR.

“I like Denver,” Reddick said. “It would be really cool if we could somehow race on the streets of New York City. It probably will never happen, but it would be cool if it did…I love [the track] Homestead-Miami, but I wish it was closer to Miami. And we need to be racing in L.A. somewhere.”

The other ideas are excellent, but Reddick stated his wish for NASCAR to race on the streets of New York City. That would be incredible for the Cup Series to grow the sport in one of America’s biggest markets. The logistics behind such a move would be complicated, but it must happen if NASCAR can find a way to land in New York City.

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2024 Coca-Cola 600 odds, picks and predictions

Looking at the odds for Sunday’s 2024 Coca-Cola 600, with NASCAR expert picks and predictions.

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The NASCAR Cup Series hits Charlotte Motor Speedway Sunday for the 2024 Coca-Cola 600. Green flag is scheduled to drop shortly after 6 p.m. ET (FOX). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the 2024 Coca-Cola 600 odds, and make our expert NASCAR picks and predictions.

2024 Coca-Cola 600: What you need to know

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Ty Gibbs is on the pole for the 600. He finished 26th in his only previous Cup start in Charlotte last season after also starting 19th
JGR’s Martin Truex Jr. has 3 career Cup victories at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 32 starts, posting a 13.7 Average-Finish Position (AFP)
JGR’s Denny Hamlin has picked up a win, 11 top-5 finishes, 20 top-10 runs and 415 laps led with a 12.7 AFP in 32 career Cup starts at the track
23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick has 5 Cup starts under his belt at Charlotte, leading all active drivers with an 8.4 AFP. While his best start at the track is 5th, he has never finished lower than 14th
Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson is attempting to race in both the Indianapolis 500 and Sunday’s NASCAR race. However, rain might delay or wash out the 500, and it is possible Larson could have to go to Indianapolis to race Monday
Team Penske’s Joey Logano, the winner of last weekend’s All-Star Race, has a win in 25 career Cup starts at CMS, and he has finished inside the top 5 on 6 occasions, with 340 laps led and 1 DNF
Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch has a win and 16 top-5 finishes with a 13.7 AFP in 35 career Cup starts at Charlotte
JTG Daugherty’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has managed 2 top-5 finishes and 5 top-10 runs with 7 laps led and a 16.1 AFP in 19 career Cup starts at Charlotte
Busch and Stenhouse had a dust-up in North Wilkesboro after the All-Star race last weekend — they’ll be worth watching

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2024 Coca-Cola 600 – Expert pick

Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 5:53 a.m. ET.

TYLER REDDICK (+1000) is a giant value at this price as a win by the 23XI Racing driver pays 10 to 1.

Reddick has never won at Charlotte Motor Speedway in a Cup race, but he has never finished lower than 14th, either. He leads all active drivers with an impressive 8.4 AFP, with the nearest competitor, Hamlin (min. 5 starts) at 12.7 AFP.

Reddick has led 53 laps in his 5 appearances at CMS, and he has improved from an average start spot of 11.2.

2024 Coca-Cola 600 – Long shot

ROSS CHASTAIN (+2500) has the tools to win the Coca-Cola 600, although he has long odds because his overall numbers are fairly poor at CMS. In 6 career Cup starts, he has just a single top-20 finish with 153 laps led and 1 DNF. His best start is 15th, and he has a dismal 25.8 AFP.

He is coming off a 7th-place finish at North Wilkesboro, and he finished 11th at Darlington. He started the season strong, but he had some struggled in the middle portion of the schedule leading up to the All-Star race. He is starting to turn the corner, and is a strong value at this price. A $5 wager will net you a $125 with a checkered flag here.

Sunday 3-race parlay

MAX VERSTAPPEN to win Monaco GP (+800), WILL POWER to win Indy 500 (+725), and REDDICK to win Coca-Cola 600 (+1000) pays 815.75 to 1 at BetMGM Sportsbook. It’s a long-shot, sure, but that’s what makes it fun. A simple $2 bet would profit $1,623.50. That’s worth a roll of the dice.

Check out Motorsports Wire: For the auto racing fan, USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s website covers NASCAR, F1, IndyCar and more.

Play our free daily Pick’em Challenge and win! Play now!

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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

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Reddick to start Coke 600 from rear after unapproved adjustment

Tyler Reddick’s 23XI Racing team was penalized Saturday afternoon at Charlotte Motor Speedway and it will carry over into the start of Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600. The No. 45 Toyota Camry XSE passed inspection and then the team made an unapproved …

Tyler Reddick’s 23XI Racing team was penalized Saturday afternoon at Charlotte Motor Speedway and it will carry over into the start of Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600.

The No. 45 Toyota Camry XSE passed inspection and then the team made an unapproved adjustment to the underwing. Reddick will be allowed to practice and qualify but will drop to the rear of the 39-car field for the start of the race on Sunday evening. After the green flag, Reddick will also have to serve a pass-through penalty.

Billy Scott and his team also lost their pit stall selection for the race. Michael Hobson, the team’s car chief, was ejected for the remainder of the weekend.

Reddick has finished ninth or better in all four of his Coca-Cola 600 starts. A fifth-place finish in last year’s event was a career best.

Tyler Reddick talks about accident with Chris Buescher at Darlington

Tyler Reddick talks about his accident with Chris Buescher at Darlington. Find out what Reddick said about his run-in with Buescher!

[autotag]Tyler Reddick[/autotag] won the first two stages of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway and was in a great position with under 10 laps to go. Reddick was quicker than leader [autotag]Chris Buescher[/autotag], but the No. 45 car made an aggressive move into the corner, putting both of them into the wall. Buescher and Reddick finished in 30th and 32nd place, respectively.

Following the event, the RFK Racing driver confronted the 23XI Racing driver on pit road and wasn’t happy. Then, Reddick talked about the incident and expressed remorse in a report from NASCAR.com.

“I completely understand that,” Reddick said, “If I just would’ve took myself out of it, I had a flat, that’s a different story, but yeah [Chris Buescher] was going to win that race had I not tried that. I realized it wasn’t going to work. There was just no grip left and yeah I slid right into him and took us both out. I’m not happy about it. I was hoping I was going to surprise him, but he was ready for it. And yeah, I tried to back out of it, but it’s Darlington man. There’s no grip left.”

Reddick had an opportunity to sweep the day at Darlington, but instead, he ended up on pit road with another competitor angry at one of his moves. The 23XI Racing driver has shown a lot of speed in 2024, but it has only translated into one win. Now, Reddick will look ahead to the NASCAR All-Star Race for a reset after Sunday’s tough finish.

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Chris Buescher expresses frustration after incident with Tyler Reddick at Darlington

Chris Buescher expresses his frustration after his incident with Tyler Reddick at Darlington Raceway. Find out what Buescher had to say!

One RFK Racing driver celebrated at Darlington Raceway, while the other confronted another competitor on the pit road. Brad Keselowski won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington after [autotag]Tyler Reddick[/autotag] and [autotag]Chris Buescher[/autotag] had an incident with under 10 laps to go. Buescher would go on to finish in 30th place on Sunday afternoon.

Following the race, Buescher expressed his frustration with Reddick on pit road before taking an interview for FOX Sports. The driver of the No. 17 car was frustrated, and it’s easy to understand why after two straight weeks of disappointment.

“Trying to be decent about it,” Buescher said. “We had clean racing all day long and to get flat-out fenced like that, there’s no excuse. It’s just a poor decision and immature move. I don’t get it…We keep getting run into without hitting somebody else first. Struggle to understand the reason.”

CHRIS BUESCHER WAS NOT HAPPY WITH TYLER REDDICK.

Hear what Buescher had to say to him after Darlington. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/Ju6HlSYWVc

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) May 12, 2024

“I’ve had issues with hardly anybody out here. Growing up trying to race clean and be smart about it. I’ve had to fix my own race cars a lot growing up and I hate trying to fix noses or fix doors and I try to remember that for these men and women that work so hard on our cars to make them fast every week. You’re going to have times where you going to push and shove but can’t find a reason or an excuse for that.”

Last week at Kansas Speedway, Buescher lost by 0.001 seconds to Kyle Larson in the closest finish in Cup Series history. Now, the RFK Racing driver walks away with another loss after leading with 10 laps to go. RFK Racing still ended up in victory lane, but seeing how Buescher races Reddick on the track moving forward will be interesting.

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‘I completely understand’ Buescher’s frustration – Reddick

Tyler Reddick took the tongue-lashing Chris Buescher gave him on pit road Sunday at Darlington Raceway after the two made contact with 10 laps to go in the Goodyear 400. Reddick made, in his own words, an aggressive move when he drove under Buescher …

Tyler Reddick took the tongue-lashing Chris Buescher gave him on pit road Sunday at Darlington Raceway after the two made contact with 10 laps to go in the Goodyear 400.

Reddick made, in his own words, an aggressive move when he drove under Buescher going into Turns 3 and 4, washed up the track and collided with the No. 17. It cost both drivers the opportunity to win the race. The pole-sitting and dominant Reddick fell off the pace in the No. 45 Toyota with a flat right-side tire down the frontstretch and finished 32nd.

“I completely understand where he is coming from,” Reddick said. “He was running the top, running his own race, running his own line to keep me at bay. I made a really aggressive move and was hoping I was going to clear him. When I realized I wasn’t going to, I tried to check up to not slide up into him, but yeah, I wish I wouldn’t have done that. I completely understand why he is that mad. He did nothing wrong.

“[I was] just trying to win the race, and to take myself out – that’s one thing – I can live with that, but just disappointed it played out the way that it did, and I took him out of the race as well. That was not the goal there. If I was going to go for it, I was hoping I was going to clear him. If I hit the wall, pop a tire – I take myself out, I can live with that – it’s tough to walk away knowing I used someone up and took away their chance of winning the race — [someone] that has raced me really cleanly since he came in the Cup Series. Just have to work on that and try to make some better decisions going forward.”

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Reddick led a race-high 174 laps and won the second stage, but he became the chaser after losing the lead when Brad Keselowski collided with him off Turn 4 with 30 laps to go. That incident opened the door for Buescher to make it three-wide down the frontstretch and clear both Keselowski and Reddick.

On pit road afterward, Buescher, who had removed his helmet, confronted Reddick. The latter had climbed from his car but was still removing his protective equipment when Buescher expressed his frustration. The RFK driver turned away before Reddick put a hand on his shoulder, apologized, and explained he tried to back out when he knew he wouldn’t complete the pass.

“I [screwed] up,” Reddick could be heard saying.

Reddick also told Buescher he didn’t care about his 23XI Racing car, and the last thing he wanted to do was wreck the RFK Racing driver. But a still frustrated Buescher continued to vent to Reddick, which included how they had never had problems, he needs Reddick to be better, and because Buescher’s team doesn’t have a win, it means more to him.

“Honestly, I think it went probably as good as it could have,” Reddick said of the conversation. “Everything he said was accurate, to be honest. He raced me respectfully and I got really aggressive.”

Reddick emulates Tim Richmond en route to pole at Darlington

Tyler Reddick showed up to Darlington Raceway with a Tim Richmond throwback paint scheme and mustache. Saturday afternoon, in the spirit of the fast and talented Richmond, the 23XI Racing driver put the No. 45 Toyota on the top of the leaderboard in …

Reddick scored the pole for the Goodyear 400 with a lap of 170.124mph (28.906s) in the final round of qualifying. It’s Reddick’s first pole of the season and at Darlington.

“He is a driver, in my opinion, whether he was at the track or away from the track, was always living life to the fullest and was happy living the life he was,” Reddick said of the late Richmond. “There is a lot of truth to that. If you are, throughout your week, just dreading whatever it is — it bleeds into what happens and what you take to the racetrack. I think, in my opinion, Tim was always happy doing whatever he was doing. How he lived his life during the week, what he would do — he was having fun, enjoying himself, and that crept over into the race weekend and allowed him to get in the car with a great mindset and allowed him to drive the daylights out of it,

“So, for me, I think that’s a big part of it. And then what he could do inside of a race car is also something I always extremely appreciated about him.”

Brad Keselowski qualified second. Keselowski’s best lap was 170.018mph. Chris Buescher, Keselowski’s teammate, qualified third at 169.543mph.

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Ty Gibbs qualified fourth at 169.491mph, and William Byron qualified fifth at 169.397mph. Byron is the defending winner of the Goodyear 400.

Kyle Larson qualified sixth at 169.374mph, Denny Hamlin qualified seventh at 169.310mph and Bubba Wallace qualified eighth at 169.176mph. Ross Chastain qualified ninth at 169.001mph, and Martin Truex Jr., who brushed the wall during his lap, rounded out the top 10 at 164.904.

Michael McDowell qualified 16th at 169.578mph. McDowell was fastest in practice Saturday morning but did not advance to the final round of qualifying.

Erik Jones qualified 30th in his first race since suffering a compression fracture of a lower vertebra at Talladega Superspeedway in late April.

Chase Elliott qualified 31st, Josh Berry 33rd and Noah Gragson 36th. There are 36 drivers in the field.

The Goodyear 400 is at 3 p.m. ET Sunday. Reddick is looking for his first win at Darlington.

“We brought a really fast Toyota Camry,” Reddick said. “We did a good job in practice understanding what our car needed for qualifying, and we just maximized qualifying well.”

RESULTS

NASCAR starting lineup for Cup Series race at Darlington in 2024

Check out the NASCAR Cup Series starting lineup for the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway this weekend!

Darlington Raceway is next for the NASCAR Cup Series, and 23XI Racing will lead the field to the green flag. [autotag]Tyler Reddick[/autotag] won the pole for the Goodyear 400 at Darlington this weekend. Brad Keselowski will join Reddick on the front row for Sunday afternoon’s event. It is Reddick’s first pole position of the 2024 NASCAR season.

Chris Buescher and Ty Gibbs will follow the two drivers on the second row. Most notably, Carson Hocevar, Erik Jones, Chase Elliott, Josh Berry, and Noah Gragson all qualified 20th or worse for Sunday’s event. Several drivers encountered trouble with a “Darlington Stripe” on the right side of their car.

The full starting lineup is available below.

Goodyear 400 starting lineup:

No. 45 Tyler Reddick
No. 6 Brad Keselowski
No. 17 Chris Buescher
No. 54 Ty Gibbs
No. 24 William Byron
No. 5 Kyle Larson
No. 11 Denny Hamlin
No. 23 Bubba Wallace
No. 1 Ross Chastain
No. 19 Martin Truex Jr.
No. 8 Kyle Busch
No. 20 Christopher Bell
No. 14 Chase Briscoe
No. 22 Joey Logano
No. 38 Todd Gilliland
No. 34 Michael McDowell
No. 12 Ryan Blaney
No. 48 Alex Bowman
No. 99 Daniel Suarez
No. 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
No. 77 Carson Hocevar
No. 42 John Hunter Nemechek
No. 3 Austin Dillon
No. 7 Corey LaJoie
No. 2 Austin Cindric
No. 41 Ryan Preece
No. 71 Zane Smith
No. 51 Justin Haley
No. 31 Daniel Hemric
No. 43 Erik Jones
No. 9 Chase Elliott
No. 16 Derek Kraus
No. 4 Josh Berry
No. 15 Kaz Grala
No. 21 Harrison Burton
No. 10 Noah Gragson

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