Tyler Reddick to Drive Upper Deck Paint Scheme Featuring Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and Wayne Gretzky
As Tyler Reddick prepares to close out the NASCAR Cup Series regular season championship in Sunday's Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, the 23XI Racing driver will have three G.O.A.T.s riding along with him.
Reddick's No. 45 Toyota Camry XSE will have primary sponsorship from Upper Deck and will feature NBA legend and co-owner of the 23XI Racing team Michael Jordan front and center on the hood of the race car. Jordan will be flanked to the left by legendary NHL player Wayne Gretzky, and PGA Tour legend Tiger Woods will appear to the right of Jordan. Each player will have their gold signatures below their photos.
The hood of the car will feature a black background, and above the photos of the all-time sporting legends will be the tagline "The World's Greatest Memorabilia" which will appear in gold font. Jordan, Gretzky, and Woods are all spokespersons for Upper Deck.
The remainder of the car will have an Upper Deck blue base color, with Yellow accents that begin on the front bumper of the car and swoop down the sides. The roof of the car will be yellow as well. Next to the No. 45 on the sides of Reddick's car will be a big, bold Upper Deck logo.
The primary sponsorship of Reddick's car is part of a new partnership between 23XI Racing and Upper Deck, which the team announced on Monday afternoon. Upper Deck will have a special 23XI Racing memorabilia collection which will feature authenticated memorabilia and trading cards of 23XI Racing drivers Reddick and Bubba Wallace. Upper Deck calls the memorabilia collection "monumental" for its company as it brings racing back into the fold.
“This collection is monumental for Upper Deck as it reintroduces racing into our diverse lineup of premium authenticated memorabilia,” said Upper Deck President Jason Masherah. “Just as 23XI burst onto the NASCAR scene with speed and determination, we're bringing racing to our portfolio with the same energy. We're thrilled to celebrate iconic moments from this fan-centric sport.”
The Upper Deck 23XI Racing memorabilia collection will be available for purchase through Upper Deck's official website store as well as at Upper Deck Certified Diamond Dealer hobby shops. The release date for the collection will be revealed at a later date.
Like Upper Deck, 23XI Racing is excited for the opportunity to be featured in the new memorabilia collection as it gives the team's fanbase a chance to collect iconic pieces from the team's history.
“This partnership is great for our team and our fans," Steve Lauletta, president of 23XI Racing said. "By entering the exciting world of collectibles, our supporters now have another unique opportunity to celebrate and commemorate 23XI's successes. Through this collaboration, we’re able to seamlessly integrate two fandoms into one remarkable experience to be cherished.”
Heading into this weekend's race, the final of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season, Reddick holds a 17-point advantage over Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson for the regular season championship. Larson's teammate Chase Elliott is one point further back at 18 points behind Reddick.
While Reddick finished 28th this past weekend in a wild Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, the 28-year-old driver had recorded seven consecutive top-10 finishes heading into last weekend's race. Reddick led 174 laps in the spring race at Darlington Raceway, but would finish 32nd after making late-race contact while battling for the win with Chris Buescher, which cut his tire down and forced him to pit road.
The NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, one of NASCAR's four crown jewel events, is set for Sunday, September 1 at 6:00 PM ET with television coverage being provided by USA Network and NBC Sports App. A radio broadcast of the event will be available on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) as well as SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
How do the NASCAR Playoffs Work?
For those unfamiliar with the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff format, 16 drivers will advance to the Playoffs (all drivers still compete in the Playoff races, but only championship-eligible drivers can win battle for the championship). The driver who wins the regular season championship this weekend will be awarded 15 Playoff Points, which will carry through each round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs in addition to the other Playoff Points they've accrued through race wins and Stage Wins throughout the season.
Runner-up in the regular season championship standings will receive 10 Playoff Points while third place will receive eight. Every position behind third will decrease incrementally by one Playoff Point with 10th place in the standings receiving one point. The remaining six drivers in the Playoff Grid will not receive any additional bonus Playoff Points by way of their regular season ranking.
Each unencumbered race win is worth five Playoff Points for drivers, while each unencumbered Stage Win is worth one Playoff Point. The 10-race Playoffs are divided into three three-race elimination rounds, where four drivers are eliminated. The final four drivers eligible in the Playoffs will make up the Championship 4 field. The highest finishing of these four drivers in the season-ending NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway will take the NASCAR Cup Series championship.
TOBY CHRISTIE