Reddick COVERS Jordan logo on NASCAR car with tape in stunning demonstration

For those watching The Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium this Sunday, you might recognize something strange about Tyler Reddick's #45 car.

The 23XI Racing driver ensured his participation in Sunday's race by dominating in his qualifying heat on Saturday night. However, those watching proceedings would have noticed he was running a unique paint scheme this weekend.

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Reddick's Toyota Camry XSE is mostly white but features a prominent, red Air Jordan logo on the bonnet and other places on the car this weekend.

That is nothing unusual given that he drives for Michael Jordan's team. What is unusual, however, is the fact that the logos are largely obscured having been covered up by black 'tape'.

But why has Reddick covered the Jordan logos on his car? Are 23XI protesting against NASCAR amid their ongoing lawsuit against the series? Well, the answer is far less antagonistic.

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Why has Tyler Reddick covered the Air Jordan logo with tape?

As well as the Air Jordan logos being covered by black 'tape', the words 'unbannable' also feature on the car, and that is the name of the campaign behind the paint scheme.

'Unbannable' is a global campaign that is intended to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Air Jordan 1, as well as the controversy that surrounded it.

The original Air Jordan 1 was first released to the public in April 1985, but the black and red colorway — intended to match the colors of Jordan's Chicago Bulls — was not to the satisfaction of the NBA.

You see, as per the Sole Supplier, Jordan had taken to the court in them for the first time in November 1984, but the NBA had tried to ban the shoe, with their rules stating that sneakers worn by their athletes had to be at least 51% white.

As such, every time that Jordan took to the court in the sneakers, he was fined $5000 by the NBA.

Spotting a major marketing opportunity, Nike encouraged Jordan to continue to wear the sneakers, paying the fines and resulting in the shoe gaining the 'banned' tag.

The NBA were not happy, but again, Nike used this to their advantage, developing their marketing strategy ahead of the shoe's release to the public around the 'banned' tag, with TV commercials running that censored the Air Jordan logo - just like on Reddick's car.

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What is Nike's 'unbannable' campaign?

The banned Air Jordan 1s went on to be a massive hit and a cultural icon, and with it now 40 years since they were first released to the public, Nike has revealed their 'unbannable' campaign.

The 'unbannable' campaign aims to celebrate the sneaker's 40th anniversary and the fact that it was so good, that it couldn't be banned.

Reddick's livery is the latest marketing stunt in the campaign, with Jordan previously covering the shoes on their website with black 'tape', and even going as far as to place black blocks on the feet of the statue of Jordan outside of the Chase Center.

A Jordan Brand statement provided to Sneaker News perhaps sums up the campaign best: "In 1985, the Air Jordan was created, a revolutionary basketball shoe that transcended sport and has continuously inspired greatness across multiple generations,"

"A month after it was created, the NBA attempted to ban Michael Jordan’s shoe due to its black and red color scheme that failed to conform with the NBA regulations. Nevertheless, MJ continued to wear the shoe, and Nike paid the fine associated with MJ wearing it.

"To celebrate 40 years of greatness and Jordan Brand’s ongoing campaign, Jordan Brand and the Chicago Bulls have partnered to put the same black bars that are animated over the Air Jordan 1’s in the 1985 ad on the feet of Michael Jordan’s statue at the entrance of the United Center.

"The effort is part of a year-long celebration aimed to inspire people to chase after their own greatness that the Jordan Brand believes is in everyone."

On having the paint scheme on his car this weekend, Reddick told the media ahead of the event: "Jordan Brand is a global brand, right?"

"They have a life outside of racing, and they sell shoes across the entire world.

"Yeah I can understand that [it seeming awkward amid 23XI and NASCAR's ongoing lawsuit], but I know what the idea and what they’re going to do, I’m not going to talk to you about it today, keeping in mind the rollout and what they’ve got planned

"There’s not a lot I can talk about, but I’m excited to once we get to that point.

"It's a great looking race car, I've gotten to see it at Airspeed a few times."

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