“This car got buns hun”: Fans react as Michael Jordan-owned 23XI Racing unveil Darlington paint scheme

Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin co-owned 23XI Racing, unveiled Tyler Reddick's #45 Toyota paint scheme for the Darlington race weekend. Reddick's Toyota will not feature a tribute design for the Throwback weekend, instead, the team will debut a new McDonald's scheme on the #45 Toyota.

Earlier this year, 23XI Racing drivers Bubba Wallace and Reddick teased their McDonald's paint schemes in a promotional video. Reddick suggested his design should feature the Quarter Pounder with a sesame seed bun. While Wallace debuted his McDonald's scheme at Daytona, Reddick had to wait until Darlington to take the covers off.

One week prior to the Throwback Weekend at the iconic oval, 23XI Racing unveiled Tyler Reddick's 2025 McDonald's paint scheme through their official X (formerly Twitter) handle, featuring the sesame seed bun as he had hinted before the season. The design includes the classic red and yellow colors, with Monster Energy's Beast branding on the rear quarter panels.

23XI Racing fans were excited about the new paint scheme, with one X user cheekily suggesting that the #45 Toyota had "buns". The comment read:

"This cars got buns hun 🔥🍔"

Another X user wrote that the paint scheme was really appetizing. The comment read:

"Makes me want a cheeseburger real bad 😋"

Many 23XI Racing fans were disappointed that the team chose not to run a throwback paint scheme at Darlington Raceway. Last year, Reddick paid tribute to Tim Richmond with a MoneyLion throwback scheme. A few dejected fans wrote on X:

"This ain’t even a Throwback 💀💀💀" one X user wrote.

"Wish it was a throwback, but it’s better to not do one if it would have ended up looking like the 9 car 😂" another X user wrote.

"Can I get uhhhht throwback for the 23 🙏" a 23XI Racing fan requested.

"No throwback? Lame…." a third X user commented.

Bubba Wallace, on the other hand, recently notched his first podium finish of the season at Homestead-Miami and accredited his pit crew for his success.

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Michael Jordan's 23XI Racing driver credits pit crew for Homestead success

Bubba Wallace (23) races against Kyle Larson (5) during the Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway - Source: Imagn

Heading to Homestead-Miami Speedway, Tyler Reddick was expected to be the best-performing 23XI Racing driver, given his past success at the track. However, Bubba Wallace outshone his teammates and Toyota drivers, leading a chunk of the final stage.

Wallace showed impressive speed at the front, keeping Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney at bay. He lost the lead to Alex Bowman in the final stint and settled for a third-place finish at the end of the race. The #23 Toyota driver credited his pit crew for helping him gain positions. He said (via NBC Sports):

"It was really good. We showed up here in Miami and had speed. That’s the first box you want to check. We fired off just OK, and so I was just praying for track position. My pit crew has been on fire. Tremendous amount of work has gone into the last five years of this team to get where we’re at. We’re not where we want to be, but we’re damn sure competitive each and every stop. They got us up there and gave me a shot."

After six races in the 2025 season, Wallace occupies seventh place in the standings, two points ahead of his team co-owner Denny Hamlin. He heads to Martinsville Speedway this weekend, where he recorded a top-5 result in the Spring race last year.

The Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway is scheduled for this Sunday, March 30 at 3:00 PM ET.