Tyler Reddick claimed the NASCAR Cup Series regular season championship at the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway despite battling a severe stomach illness. This incredible achievement was recognized by his co-owner, NBA legend Michael Jordan, who praised Reddick’s tenacity and drew parallels to his legendary Flu game during the 1997 NBA Finals.

Speaking to the media after the race, Jordan said, according to NASCAR.com:

“I know what it feels like to be sick and try to perform. And just do what he did. I wasn’t driving a car at 200 mph, but I’m proud of what he did and we needed it.”

“We won by one point. I mean, he fought through it. Hopefully he feels better tomorrow and we feel better next week too.”

For much of the race, Reddick not only struggled with debilitating ailments caused by a gastrointestinal virus he caught from his son Beau, but the intense heat of the day presented an additional challenge for the driver of the No. 45 Toyota as he had to navigate the grueling conditions.

Throughout the race, Reddick’s crew chief Billy Scott and the team provided tireless support.

Entering the final stage of the race, Reddick was one point behind Kyle Larson in the standings. To win the championship, he had to finish at least two spots ahead of Larson due to tiebreaker rules.

As Reddick struggled with his illness, Jordan motivated him over the radio, with the team frequently reminding him of Jordan’s legendary performance despite his illness.

A key moment was a multi-car crash that allowed Reddick to improve his position. He eventually finished tenth in the race and narrowly secured the championship title by a single point over Larson. Reddick commented after the race:

“Yeah, it’s just a testament to the hard work that everyone at 23XI puts in, here on the track, week after week, here at Airspeed.

“We’re in the fourth year of their goals, right? It’s just been really, really fun the last two years to be part of this process and get to where we want to be.”

He added:

“To answer that question: It’s right in front of us.

“We’re trying to win this thing, win the regular season. I mean, we knew that the whole time. We just tried to think about what we could do to stay in the race.

“We got to Stage 3 and just thought, OK, how many points are we behind? Where do we need to be? We worked on what we needed to do to put ourselves in position to get there.”

“I mean, we didn’t have the slightest bit of control to make that happen. Some cars were ahead of the No. 5 (Larson). That’s what ultimately allowed us to finish from 10th place.”

“Yeah, you just have to fight all night. You never count on that, right? The best car of the night loses control of the race. But you have to be able to take advantage of that if it happens.”

Billy Scott also commented on this monumental effort:

“We joked about it because Michael was giving him a hard time, asking if he was still alive, and he said that the flu game back then was always a very notable win on the way to the championship.

“We were joking about how many points he got compared to Michael that day. So, yeah, it’s incredible to go through that, run in the top 10 all day, finish in the top 10 and end up making the passes that he needed to put us in a position to win. You’re right, I didn’t experience that, didn’t witness it, but I can’t imagine how tough that was.”