Michael Jordan might want to hop on a plane wherever he’s hanging out these days and fly to Austin for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup race. Actually, don’t be surprised if he does.
The NBA legend is a co-owner of 23XI Racing, which on Saturday placed drivers Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace on the front row for Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Wallace is the Cup Series’ only Black driver.
Jordan, a NASCAR fan since childhood who splits time between North Carolina and Florida, bought into the team with three-time Cup champion Denny Hamlin in the summer of 2020. The one-two qualifying finish is a first for 23XI Racing.
Wallace is not an accomplished road racer. Reddick is, and he won at COTA in 2023 in a triple-overtime finish against Kyle Busch. Nobody has won two Cup races in Austin.
“We lean on Tyler at road courses,” Wallace said. “He gives us the right info to chase him. I was way out in left field in practice, but our team made big gains for qualifying. What a day for 23XI Racing.”
Reddick and other drivers said COTA’s shorter, new National Course layout in place for this race (one mile and three turns less) and the partial repave of the track confounded them out of the blocks.
“Definitely threw us for a loop,” said the driver of the No. 45 Toyota. “The pace was not nearly what we thought it would be. There was issues with grip and tire wear. But our team made massive improvements between sessions.”
Reddick already was among the race favorites at 7-to-1 in Vegas. Wallace, not so much. He started the week at 150-1, the 26th choice. After Saturday’s second-place qualifying finish, Wallace dropped to 100-1 at some Vegas books.
“I still have a long, long way to go at places like COTA, but I am making gains and this can’t help but instill some confidence,” said Wallace, whos improved his pole qualifying in Austin from P23 to P11, P10 and now P2. Reddick’s lap was a 1:38.08, topping his teammate’s 1:38.30.
Hendrick Chevrolet standout Chase Elliott, who won the 2021 inaugural at COTA, qualified third to remind everyone he hasn’t gone anywhere. Young gun Carson Hocevar, 22, who created controversy with his bullish style last week at Atlanta that netted second place, took fourth.
“I race for me, myself and I,” the 22-year-old driver of the No. 77 Chevrolet said. “We’re not some Boy Band. Not here to be best friends.”
Daniel Suarez, the popular Mexican driver who has a huge rooting section at COTA, nailed down fifth.
The race favorites — road-course specialists Shane Van Gisbergen and 18-year-old Connor Zilisch — were sixth and 14th. They have roughly 5.5 to 1 odds. Zilisch, at 18, will become the youngest Cup driver since Joey Logano made his 2008 debut. And keep a close eye on William Byron and Christopher Bell. They won the first two races this year at Daytona and Atlanta; they also finished one-two here last year, with the No. 24 Chevrolet driver for Hendrick Motorsports scoring a dominant victory. Byron will start 15th and Bell 19th.
“COTA is a good spot for us,” Bell, in the No. 20 Toyota, said. “Certain tracks things just click.”
Zilisch, who qualified 19th in the Trackhouse Chevy, has created quite the buzz because of his age and road-course acumen. He won the Role 24 at Daytona and the 12th Hourse of Sebring and became the first American to capture a World Karting Trophy in Italy in 2023.
“This is quite a leap and we’ve obviously battling a a huge experience gap, but I’m pumped to see how we stack up,” Zilisch said.
NASCAR at COTA
EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas, 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Fox; tickets — $80 general admission, $120 and up grandstand
Saturday — VP Sportscar Challenge 8:40-9:25 a.m.; NASCAR Cup Series practices 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m. (Prime Video); NASCAR Cup Series qualifying (Prime Video); Xfinity Series Focused Health 250 1:30-4 p.m. (The CW); VP Sportscar Challenge 5-5:45 p.m.; Sunday — Cory Kent concert 12:45-1:45 p.m.; NASCAR EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix 2:30 p.m. (Fox)
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: 23XI Racing teammates take top qualifying spots for NASCAR’s COTA race
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