nascar

Michael Jordan didn’t seem too upset.

Hours after Kevin Durant knocked him out of the top five on the NBA’s all-time scoring list , Jordan was all smiles as he walked to Victory Lane to greet Tyler Reddick after the driver’s win Sunday at Darlington Raceway.

Reddick — who drives for 23XI Racing, which is co-owned by Jordan and veteran driver Denny Hamlin — joined NASCAR Hall of Famers Dale Earnhardt and Bill Elliott as the only Cup Series drivers to win four of the first six races in a season.

To do so, Reddick had to overcome a malfunctioning battery and a large deficit in the final 50 laps. Afterward, Jordan jumped the track’s safety barrier to greet Reddick and his team with some hard high fives and enthusiastic cheers.

“I think the key to him winning was just keeping his head,” Jordan said after the race. “We just had to get the car right, and I think he did an unbelievable job. I just wanted everything to be good, because once he gets back out there, then I feel like his competitive juices are going to carry him all the way to the end. He earned it all week, and I’m real proud of the team.”

Earlier this year, Reddick became the first NASCAR driver to start the season with three consecutive wins. He stands atop Cup Series standings, leading second-place Ryan Blaney of Team Penske by 95 points. Reddick’s 23XI teammate Bubba Wallace is currently in third place.

One night earlier, Durant scored 27 points in the Houston Rockets’ 123-122 victory over the Miami Heat to overtake Jordan for fifth place on the NBA’s all-time leading scorer list. In his 18th season, Durant has 32,294 points — two more than Jordan, who played 13 seasons for the Chicago Bulls and two for the Washington Wizards. Durant and the Rockets play the Bulls in Chicago on Monday.

Jordan has yet to comment publicly on the matter, but Durant had plenty of praise for the man considered by many to be basketball’s GOAT on Saturday during his postgame news conference.

“It’s kind of crazy passing him up because he’s meant so much to the game,” said Durant, who passed Wilt Chamberlain and Dirk Nowitzki on the scoring list earlier this season and now trails only Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and all-time leader LeBron James.

“I’ve been inspired by all of these players that I’m either coming close to or passing up, and MJ is in a world of his own,” Durant added. “He’s in a galaxy of his own as somebody that I look up to, respect and who basically shaped the game for me.”

Durant also pointed out that Jordan would have scored many more points had he not taken multiple seasons off during the span of his playing career.

“He left a few, I want to say, thousand or so points on the table, too, with the amount of games he missed,” Durant said. “… He scored points quickly, man. So he set the bar high, and it’s pretty cool to reach that bar.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Driver Daniel Dye has been suspended indefinitely by NASCAR for “insensitive comments made during a recent livestream,” the organization announced Tuesday.

The full-time driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was also suspended indefinitely by his team, Kaulig Racing.

In the video, Dye imitated IndyCar driver David Malukas. At one point during the livestream, Dye referred to the voice he had used as a “David Malukas gay voice.”

According to a NASCAR news release, Dye was punished for violating a rule that states members should not make “a public statement or communication that criticizes, ridicules, or otherwise disparages another person based upon that person’s race, color, creed, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, age, or handicapping condition.”

“Dye used language that officials deemed unacceptable, resulting in Tuesday’s suspension,” NASCAR stated. “Dye must complete sensitivity training before he may return to competition.”

On Tuesday, Dye posted a statement on social media, in which he apologized to Malukas and others for his “careless comments.”

“I chose my words poorly, and I understand why it upset people,” Dye wrote. “I’m sorry to anyone who was offended. That’s not how I want to represent myself.

“I have some close friends in the LGBTQ+ community who I would never want to feel less of themselves because of what I said, and that’s exactly why I should hold myself to a higher standard. In talking with them, I realize that a true friend would know better than to act the way I did and for that I need to be a better friend. What I said doesn’t reflect how I feel about them or anyone else.

“I didn’t think enough before I spoke, and I in no way meant any harm. I know that intention does not erase impact and I need to do better.”

Malukas and his team, Team Penske, did not immediately respond on Wednesday to requests for comment.

Dye, 22, was also suspended four years ago as a driver in the ARCA series, which NASCAR owns. He had been arrested and charged with felony battery for allegedly punching a high school classmate in the groin area. He was reinstated when the charge was reduced to a misdemeanor.

In 49 Truck Series starts, Dye has two finishes in the Top 5 and 10 finishes in the Top 10, earning one pole position. He is in 13th place through three races this season.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.