“Junior Johnson’s looking down from heaven…”: NASCAR veteran in awe of 23XI Racing’s ‘slick’ pit crew move at Phoenix 

Part-time NASCAR Cup Series driver Corey LaJoie was amazed by a move made by the jackman on Tyler Reddick's #45 23XI Racing car in Sunday's Cup race at Phoenix. In order to make the pit stop faster, the jackman swung the jack around his back in incredible fashion.

Skip Flores, a NASCAR tire changer and co-host of LaJoie's "Stacking Pennies" podcast, explained the move made by the 23XI Racing jackman in a recent episode of the podcast. He said:

"All this does here is it takes a step out. At this point in time, all these guys can run around the car really fast, right? But instead of having to step back to the jack and grab it, see how he just stays right there at the right front and just reaches back? Then, it brings him closer to the car, so he doesn't have the jack over the car."

LaJoie was in awe of the jackman's quick maneuver. The driver of the #01 Rick Ware Racing Ford said the late Junior Johnson, a former NASCAR champion driver and car owner, would be proud of that pit stop move. LaJoie said:

"That is slick. He is smooth with it. Junior Johnson's looking down from heaven like, 'Yeah buddy, I like that.'"

While it was an insane move on the pit stop, Tyler Reddick ultimately finished 20th in Sunday's Shriners Children's 500 at Phoenix Raceway. His teammates, Bubba Wallace and Riley Herbst, finished 29th and 37th, respectively, after both crashing out in separate incidents.

23XI Racing, co-owned by Cup Series star Denny Hamlin and retired NBA legend Michael Jordan, fields three full-time Cup Series entries. The team started out as a one-car operation in 2021, expanded to two cars in 2022, and eventually to three cars ahead of this season.

What's the latest update in 23XI Racing's lawsuit against NASCAR?

Tyler Reddick signs an autograph before the NASCAR Cup Series Shriners Children's 500 - Source: Getty

23XI Racing has been tearing it up on the track in recent memory, but unfortunately, it's off-track matters that have them in the headlines as of late. Last October, 23XI and Front Row Motorsports filed an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR after failing to come to a charter agreement for this season.

The teams accused NASCAR and its CEO, Jim France, of monopolistic practices. While the suit is ongoing, the latest development is that NASCAR has countersued the teams and accused them of multiple things, including conspiracy. The news was brought to light by FOX NASCAR reporter Bob Pockrass, who wrote via X:

"As part of the 23XI/FRM-NASCAR litigation, NASCAR has filed a counterclaim against 23XI, FRM and 23XI co-owner Curtis Polk alleging a conspiracy and agreement in unreasonable restraint of interstate trade and commerce, constituting a violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act."

Despite not reaching a charter agreement, the teams filed an injunction to retain their charters for this season. The charter retainment was granted by a judge, allowing the teams to have guaranteed spots in the field for the 2025 campaign.