Tyler Reddick hands michael jordan another championship as 23XI wins wild Daytona 500
Tyler Reddick pulled off a last-lap surge to win the Daytona 500 for 23XI Racing, delivering a signature victory that left team owner michael jordan celebrating in Victory Lane. The season-opening classic featured brutal wrecks, frantic strategy and a rain threat that nearly rewrote the result — but it finished under green and produced a dramatic, unforgettable finale.
Jordan’s restraint and celebration after a bruising offseason
The win carried extra weight for the team and its famous co-owner. In Victory Lane Jordan embraced Reddick, hoisted the Harley J. Earl trophy and called the triumph something that felt like a championship. That public display of joy came after a bitter legal dispute earlier in the offseason that ended in a settlement. Rather than reopening old wounds, Jordan used the moment to lean into unity, praising the sport and its people and framing the win as a fresh start for the team and series.
Reddick’s last-lap gamble, Elliott’s near-miss and team milestones
Reddick led only the final lap but made it count, executing a decisive move down the stretch to surge past the leader and claim the checkered flag. Chase Elliott — who looked like the likely winner for much of the final circuit — was left wrecked and heartbroken after contact late in the run. Elliott had been composed in the chaos and tried to avoid a catastrophic block, only to be taken into the wall moments later; he emerged with a damaged car and dashed hopes of finally closing the deal on motorsport’s biggest one-day prize.
For 23XI Racing the result was monumental beyond the headline: the organization put all three of its full-time cars inside the top ten, a first that underlines the team’s depth and the payoff of its offseason work. Teammates and rivals alike were left to process the razor-thin margins of Daytona, where a single move can flip victory and defeat in the space of a corner.
How race control, weather and last-lap chaos shaped the outcome
Officials moved the race start up by one hour ET to stay ahead of an approaching storm, a proactive decision that kept the Daytona 500 from being cut short when rain arrived within an hour of the finish. That timing — and a measured approach to cautions during the day — allowed the field to race back to the line and ultimately gave drivers a shot to contest the finish under green.
The race saw 25 of the 41 starters lead at some point and featured a mammoth 20-car pileup that reshaped the running order. Spire Motorsports nearly pulled off a dream result, with fuel-saving heroics putting Michael McDowell and Carson Hocevar in position to run 1-2 late. Hocevar, however, was turned from the lead on the last lap and tumbled down the order, ending a wild Speedweek that had alternated promise with misfortune for him and the team.
Other storylines spilled from the chaos: Denny Hamlin, hunting a fourth Daytona trophy, was entangled in the late drama and finished well back after late contact, while Bubba Wallace and others showcased speed and resilience in a race that rewarded patience and punished the smallest missteps. Race control’s restraint and the weather timing combined to create one of the more memorable season openers in recent memory.
The victory hands momentum to Reddick and 23XI as the series heads into the long grind of the season. For michael jordan, the moment was a personal and public high point after the team’s contentious offseason; for the sport, it was a reminder that the Daytona 500 still produces theater, heartbreak and heroes in a single, frenetic afternoon.
