Tyler Reddick is repping his boss, Michael Jordan, during the NASCAR Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium.
Reddick, the driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota, is running a Jordan Brand paint scheme with the word “Unbannable” on the rear bumper and on the sides, with a black rectangle over the famous Air Jordan logo.
The paint scheme is in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the famous Air Jordan 1 shoe, which the NBA wanted to prevent Jordan from wearing early in his storied 15-year NBA career, primarily with the Chicago Bulls.
Jordan, who ended up with six NBA championships and five MVP awards, was fined $5,000 every time he wore the shoe, which was black and red, as a way to force him to stop wearing the shoe in 1985 because they were not the approved color. Nike paid all of the fines, however.
There is also discussion that the paint scheme may be a subtle jab at an ongoing lawsuit between 23XI Racing and NASCAR regarding the sport’s charter program.
In speaking with FOX Sports NASCAR reporter, Bob Pockrass, Reddick put the focus of the paint scheme of the shoe’s new promotional rollout.
“Jordan Brand is a global brand, right?” Reddick said to Pockrass. “They have a life outside of racing, and they sell shoes all over the world. I can understand that, I know what the idea and what they’re going to do, I’m not going to talk to you about it today. Keeping in mind the rollout and what they’ve got planned, there’s not a lot I can talk about, but I’m excited to once we get to that point.”
Reddick won his qualifying heat race for the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium and will start fourth in Sunday’s 200-lap feature event.
Follow sports writer Austin Chastain on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @ChastainAJ or reach him via email at achastain@gannett.com.