“A lot of question marks” – Michael Jordan is extremely disappointed with Tyler Reddick after the disaster at the 12th round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs in New Hampshire, which left the team in a difficult situation and lost the chance to compete

LOUDON, N.H. – The echoes of revving engines had barely faded at New Hampshire Motor Speedway when the air grew thick with frustration. What was supposed to be a pivotal opener in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs’ Round of 12 devolved into a nightmare for 23XI Racing, the team co-owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin. Tyler Reddick, the promising driver of the No. 45 Toyota, plummeted from a promising fourth-place qualifying spot to a disheartening 21st-place finish in the Mobil 1 301 on September 21, 2025. His teammate, Bubba Wallace, fared even worse, crossing the line in 26th. The double blow has thrust the team into a precarious playoff position, with both drivers now staring down a steep deficit as the postseason clock ticks mercilessly toward elimination.

Michael Jordan, the six-time NBA champion whose foray into stock car racing has been marked by flashes of brilliance and bouts of heartbreak, was visibly crestfallen in the team’s hauler after the race. Sources close to the organization revealed that Jordan, known for his unyielding competitive fire, pulled no punches in a heated post-race debrief. “A lot of question marks,” he reportedly muttered, his words hanging heavy like exhaust fumes on the infield. The disappointment wasn’t just in the results; it was in the unraveling of what should have been a golden opportunity. 23XI entered the weekend with high hopes, buoyed by Reddick’s consistent top-10 finishes earlier in the season and Wallace’s raw speed on short tracks. New Hampshire, the flat, unforgiving “Magic Mile,” was seen as a track where the Toyota’s handling could shine. Instead, it exposed glaring vulnerabilities that left Jordan questioning the team’s preparation and execution.

The race itself unfolded like a thriller gone wrong for the Orange, California native Reddick. Starting on the front row behind Team Penske’s Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney, he sliced through the pack early, briefly holding seventh place as the field settled into the 301-lap grind. But by Lap 29, trouble brewed. Over the team radio, Reddick’s voice crackled with urgency: “Brakes are getting soft already.” What followed was a cascade of mechanical gremlins that no amount of veteran savvy could outrun. Brake issues sapped his confidence in the corners, where New Hampshire’s tight grip window demands precision. Then came the handling nightmare—a sudden loss of balance that turned the No. 45 into a loose cannon, sliding wide and costing precious seconds on every straightaway.

“It’s frustrating because we started so strong,” Reddick admitted in a somber NBC Sports interview, his fire suit still zipped to the collar despite the autumn chill. “Between the brake problems and the balance just going away, it got away from us quick. I don’t know what happened out there. A lot of question marks for sure.” His words echoed Jordan’s sentiment, underscoring the confusion that gripped the pit wall. Crew chief Billy Scott, a no-nonsense tactician, radioed frantic adjustments—tire pressures, wedge tweaks, even a desperate call for fresh rubber during a late caution. But nothing stuck. A mid-race skirmish involving Joe Gibbs Racing teammates didn’t help, as debris from Ty Gibbs’ spin scattered the track and forced yet another yellow flag. By the time Ryan Blaney sealed his third win of the season, holding off Josh Berry by nearly a second, Reddick was mired in the wake of lapped traffic, his playoff hopes dangling by a thread.

The fallout couldn’t be starker. In the updated playoff standings, Reddick sits 11th, a daunting 23 points below the cutline with just two races left in the Round of 12: Kansas Speedway on September 28 and the Charlotte Roval on October 5. Wallace trails even further at 27 points back, his No. 23 machine plagued by similar handling woes that dropped him through the field like a stone. Ahead, the path is littered with juggernauts—William Byron leads with a 47-point buffer, flanked by Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell, both comfortably in Round of 8 territory. Blaney’s victory locks him in, while Denny Hamlin, Jordan’s co-owner and a three-time New Hampshire winner, salvaged a 12th-place run to hold fifth, 27 points above elimination. For 23XI, the math is brutal: Reddick needs a miracle—a win at Kansas, where he triumphed in 2023, or a string of top-fives to claw back ground.

Jordan’s investment in NASCAR, launched with 23XI in 2021, has been a passion project blending his Airness aura with the grit of motorsport. Wins at Talladega, Michigan, and Homestead last year propelled Reddick to the Championship 4, only for a sixth-place finish in Phoenix to deny Jordan his first Cup title. This season, echoes of that near-miss have returned with a vengeance. The billionaire owner’s presence at Loudon was felt in every strategy call, his sharp gaze from the command center a reminder of stakes beyond points. Post-race, he consoled Reddick with a firm pat on the shoulder, but insiders say the conversation turned pointed. “MJ doesn’t do silver linings when championships are on the line,” one team member confided. “He’s all about answers, and right now, there aren’t many.”

Reddick, at 29, is no stranger to adversity. A two-time Xfinity Series champion before his Cup ascent, he’s gutted through stomach bugs at Darlington and tire woes at Bristol. Yet this feels different—a mechanical betrayal on a stage where momentum could redefine his career. “We’ve got speed; we know that,” he said, eyes fixed on the horizon. “Kansas is next, and that’s a place we can rebound. But yeah, it’s tough swallowing this one.” Wallace, ever the vocal leader, didn’t mince words either: “We came here expecting to fight for the win, not scrape for survival. Something’s off, and we’ve got to fix it fast.”

As the haulers rumble south toward Kansas, the weight of New Hampshire lingers. For Jordan, the man who once stared down the Lakers in the Finals, this playoff peril is personal. His disappointment isn’t in Reddick’s effort—the kid “drove his ass off,” as he’d say after past triumphs—but in the systemic slips that turned potential into peril. With four drivers set to fall by Charlotte, 23XI’s survival hinges on redemption. The question marks multiply: Can the engineers diagnose the brake fade? Will the setup click on the 1.5-mile intermediate? And, crucially, can Jordan’s unshakeable belief rally a team on the brink?

In NASCAR’s high-stakes theater, disasters like Loudon aren’t finales—they’re plot twists. Reddick and Wallace still have laps to run, points to plunder. But as the sun set over the White Mountains, one thing was clear: Michael Jordan’s dream of a Cup championship demands more than heart. It demands answers, and time is running out.