As Michael Jordan watches, Tyler Reddick wins for the fifth time in nine NASCAR Cup Series races

Tyler Reddick wins when Michael Jordan shows up.

OK, it’s not a hard and fast rule. But Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway was the sixth time Jordan, the co-owner of 23XI Racing has been in at the track. And Reddick scored his fifth win in nine races overall and fifth in six races that Jordan has attended when he passed Kyle Larson on the final lap of an overtime finish.

“I mean, you can’t really discredit that,” Reddick said of his success when Jordan is at the track. “I mean, it’s been pretty successful. I think the only one we didn’t win for him was Phoenix.”

Reddick needed a late caution on Sunday after he seemed destined to lose to his other 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin. Reddick got into the wall while racing Hamlin for the lead with less than two laps to go. But as Reddick’s car slid into the wall, Cody Ware spun in front of them to bring out the caution before Hamlin and Reddick took the white flag.

“I mean, obviously it’s not winning,” Hamlin said when asked about his frustration after the race. “It’s Cody Ware, six laps down wrecking.”

Hamlin was going to win the race without a caution. Instead he and Reddick — along with a host of others behind them — pitted for two fresh tires for the overtime restart.

Kyle Larson restarted behind Hamlin and dove to Hamlin’s inside entering Turn 1 after the restart. That put Hamlin in a precarious spot and he fell to fourth. Christopher Bell tried to take the high line to the lead but he smacked the wall. That left Larson ahead of the pack and Hamlin and Reddick to chase him down.

Reddick was able to do so. Hamlin had a shot, but he hit the wall off Turn 2 on the final lap. Chase Briscoe — one of the few drivers who had pitted for four tires ahead of the final two laps — pushed his way to third and could have won the race if it was another lap longer. But he finished third behind Reddick and Larson.

“This kid is on fire,” Jordan said of Reddick after the race. “I don’t know if I can cool him down. He is unbelievable. Unbelievable last couple laps. I’m proud of the whole team.”

Reddick is now the first driver since Dale Earnhardt in 1987 to win five of the first nine races of a season. Earnhardt went on to win 11 of 29 races that season on the way to his third Cup Series title.

Reddick is still searching for his first. And the points format is way, way different than it was 39 years ago. NASCAR will reset the points standings based on the results of the first 26 races of the season for the final 10 races of the season. Sixteen drivers will then race for the title over the last 10 weeks.

At the moment, Reddick is the undisputed favorite. His lead over Ryan Blaney in second is 105 points.

“We’ll see when we get to the Chase, right?” Reddick said. “It’s going to reset and everyone’s going to get the points that they’ve earned. We’ll go from there.

“We’ll just try and get as comfortable a lead as possible. If we can maintain a gap like this as we get further into the season, hopefully it puts us in a position to try and steal some more wins if it’s split strategy calls middle of the race or late in the race.”