NASCAR Monday Mash-Up: Tyler Reddick has his Michael Jordan moment

Another week and another track with the scoring pylon removed. Texas and Talladega both made the decision to do away with their pylons and it has NASCAR fans and drivers scratching their heads.

Honestly, it feels like a bad move. If the pylons can’t go back up, then let’s get some vertical video boards like Indianapolis Motor Speedway has now. Those pylons are iconic and belong in motorsports.

Jake Finch wins first career ARCA Menards Series race

One young driver got the weekend started off right with a dominating win. Jake Finch was great in the ARCA race, although it was a bit of a snoozer.

Finch led every lap of the caution-free ARCA race. These drivers were just a little too inexperienced to really get a second lane going, but Finch did his job and earned the win.

Brandon Jones involved in big wreck again

Another week and another massive wreck involving Brandon Jones. Jones had a strong run going near the top-5 at Talladega when disaster struck.

Both Ryan Sieg and Parker Kligerman went for the same spot in the middle lane at the same time. Jones was pushed up into the wall as a result and about 10 cars ended up wrecking in the aftermath.

Jesse Love wins first career NASCAR Xfinity Series race

Much like the ARCA Menards Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series saw a first-time winner in its Talladega race. Jesse Love was able to rack up three pole awards before claiming his first win in the series.

It was a great showing from Love who was smart and disciplined. He learned how to save fuel a lot better between Atlanta and Talladega. That paid off in the end as others ran out of fuel and he sped away to victory. He even had enough to do a burnout and get to Victory Lane.

Kyle Larson unable to qualify, hit with penalties at Talladega

Things did not start well for Kyle Larson this weekend who was more or less a non-factor on Saturday and Sunday. He was not allowed to qualify after NASCAR officials saw a team member adjust the roof rails prior to qualifying.

That is a big no-no in the sport. You can’t go making adjustments and things like that after technical inspection and before qualifying. Larson started in last, then had to complete a pass-through penalty, and his car chief was ejected. Larson finished P21.

Alabama Football makes a NASCAR appearance

One really cool thing that happened off the track, Alabama Football had a small contingency at Talladega. Jalen Milroe and some of his teammates made the trip out and hung around some NASCAR teams.

Milroe was also able to snag a picture with Michael Jordan. We’ll talk more about the GOAT in a little bit.

NASCAR fans, drivers didn’t appreciate fuel-saving race

Now, to the action on the track, things were interesting to say the least. The fuel saving in the first two stages was a little tiring. Even though they were three-wide for many laps it didn’t feel like three-wide racing.

With so much time off the throttle, it was a bit tedious until the final 40 laps of the race. That might just be superspeedway racing right now in the Next Gen car.

Erik Jones took hard hit during Toyota catastrophe

The Toyotas were running on a strategy of undercutting the field on pit stops. It worked, too! That was until the group of Toyotas wrecked each other, causing Erik Jones, Bubba Wallace, and Denny Hamlin to DNF.

Jones was shaken by his impact into the outside wall. Although he was initially checked and released from the care center, Jones spent time at the hospital later in the night. He was released late on Sunday night and made the trip home to North Carolina.

Tyler Reddick wins, Corey LaJoie finishes on his door

For how slow and boring the first 140 laps of the race were, the final 40 or so were very exciting. In the end, it was a classic Talladega blow out as Michael McDowell made one too many blocks and wrecked the field behind him.

Tyler Reddick zoomed out of the smoke and mess to steal the win at the line from Brad Keselowski. Meanwhile, Corey LaJoie crossed the finish line P18 sliding on his door with his wheels on the wall.

Michael Jordan goes to Victory Lane for the first time

Of course, the win from Tyler Reddick meant that Michael Jordan could finally go to Victory Lane as a winning owner. He was elated and shared just how much it meant to finally make that trip with this 23XI Racing team.

What could be better for NASCAR than the GOAT cheering and smiling in Victory Lane while holding his driver’s son? It was a wonderful scene that I hope NASCAR uses to push the sport further.