DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Tyler Reddick won the Daytona 500 in a Michael Jordan car when Chase Elliott crashed as he and Reddick battled for victory in NASCAR’s season opener.
Reddick, driving a Toyota for 23XI Racing, led just one lap on Sunday: the one to the checkered flag for the team of NBA Hall of Famer and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin.
“Just incredible how it all turned out. Just real Daytona madness,” Reddick said. “I’ve already lost my voice from shouting. I never thought I would be a Daytona 500 champion.”
Neither did Jordan, who met Reddick in victory lane for a bear hug and the two then jointly hoisted the Harley J. Earl trophy into the air. Jordan, who turns 63 on Tuesday, will receive a Daytona 500 ring for his birthday and announced in victory lane that he wears a size 13.
“It feels like I won a championship, but until I get my ring, I won’t even know,” Jordan said.
It was a celebration that included several NASCAR stars, as Reddick is teammates with Bubba Wallace, who went to victory lane in tears after dominating much of the race but finishing 10th.
Jordan put his arms around Wallace from behind and spoke close to Wallace’s ear in a short speech of encouragement.
“I don’t want my emotions to reflect on the monumental day they just accomplished. Happy birthday, MJ. That’s a huge birthday gift,” Wallace said. “I thought this was our week, the best 500 I’ve ever had, and if I come up short, it sucks.
“I did a lot of laps, lap leader, I believe. It was a good day for us, but damn. Try again next year.”
Hamlin also found himself in victory lane after finishing 31st and falling short in his bid to become the third four-time Daytona 500 winner.
Hamlin, who drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, was involved in the final caution when he and teammate Christopher Bell collided with nine laps to go. It provided the final push to the finish over the last four laps.
Elliott was in control on the final lap after leader Carson Hocevar was spun off the track and it looked like the son of NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott would finally win his first Daytona 500.
Instead, Reddick hit a huge wave, hit Elliott causing Elliott to crash and sailed past to give Jordan a win in NASCAR’s biggest event of the year.
Jordan was the face of December federal antitrust case that NASCAR reached a settlement on the ninth day of the trial. The settlement changed the revenue sharing model in America’s top motorsports series.
Jordan watched the victory from a suite overlooking the superspeedway built by the French family he had just defeated in federal court.
“I can’t even believe it. It was so satisfying,” Jordan said. “You never know how these races are going to end. You just try to survive. We hung in there all day. Great strategy from the team, and we gave ourselves a chance at the end. Look, I’m ecstatic.”
The victory marked a Daytona sweep for three team owners closely involved in the trial. Bob Jenkins, who joined NASCAR with 23XI, opened the weekend with a victory as Chandler Smith won the Truck Series opener for Front Row Motorsports on Friday night.
Richard Childress, who testified on behalf of 23XI and Front Row was the subject of disparaging text messages by the late NASCAR chairman Steve Phelps, was the winning team owner on Saturday when Austin Hill won.
Then came “The Great American Race” and Jordan and Hamlin, the two frontal litigants, took their first Daytona 500 victory.
Former race winners Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Joey Logano finished second and third while Toyota, Chevrolet and Ford each placed a driver on the podium. Elliott finished fourth, sitting on the outside wall of the track dejected and in disbelief after climbing out of his car.
“We ended up getting the lead … and at that point you’re just on defense. Man, that’s a really tough place to be, honestly,” Elliott said. “When you look back, you can run it through your mind a thousand times: are you doing something different – I feel like if I had thrown a double block on (Reddick), we probably would have just crashed at that point.
“I felt like you had to pick your battles.”
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