NASCAR returns to the Windy City this weekend for the 2024 Chicago Street Race, with Cup Series drivers starting their engines on Sunday.
One driver, Tyler Reddick of the No. 45 Toyota Camry, will pay homage to perhaps the greatest athlete in the history of professional sports in Chicago – who also happens to own the team Reddick races for.
Reddick’s paint scheme for Sunday’s competition is splashed with purple on the roof and features a young, dunking Michael Jordan on the sides and hood of the car. It’s borrowing from the iconic 1985 poster – which shows Jordan in his unmistakable Jumpman pose – dunking over the Chicago skyline at sunset.
The image was part of Nike’s marketing promotion for the original Air Jordan sneakers. The silhouette of Jordan in that photo later turned into the Jumpman logo.
The Jumpman returns to the iconic streets of Chicago 🏀 pic.twitter.com/DoSdi1zd4N
— 23XI Racing (@23XIRacing) June 27, 2024
Among Jordan’s various other business ventures, he co-owns the 23XI Racing team with Denny Hamlin, which has Reddick and Bubba Wallace competing for it in NASCAR’s highest level. Former 23XI Racing driver Kurt Busch once raced with a cool Jordan-inspired scheme too.
Reddick’s usual paint scheme is centered around his main sponsor, Monster Energy, while the Jumpman logo is typically featured on his passenger-side rear panel.
But this week, Reddick’s car is all Jordan. Fittingly so for a race in Chicago.
Reddick finished 28th at Chicago last year, but he’s been racing exceptionally well lately, finishing in the top 10 in five of his last six races, and winning at Talladega back in April.
