SPEEDWAY, Ind. — In a dramatic finish after a rain shower created a pressure-packed overtime period, Bubba Wallace managed to save enough fuel and hold off Kyle Larson to win the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, ending a 100-race winless streak and earning the third victory of his NASCAR Cup Series career. Wallace’s win is his first since Kansas in the fall of 2022, and it also makes him the first Black driver to win a race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
After a blown tire suffered by Joey Logano allowed him to cycle to the race lead once all strategies played out after the final round of green flag pit stops, Wallace had a comfortable lead over Larson and was well on his way to victory when a passing rain shower brought out the caution and then the red flag with six laps to go. That set up an overtime finish and forced Wallace to hold off Larson and the rest of the field while aggressively saving fuel to ensure he could make it to the finish line without running out of gas.
Wallace’s fuel situation was questionable heading into the first overtime, and things became even more precarious after a multi-car crash at the end of the backstretch set up double overtime. Wallace executed on both counts, as the fuel he had was enough to race past Larson on the final restart and beat him back to the checkered flag by several carlengths for his first win in one of NASCAR’s crown jewel races.
“I’m wore out,” Wallace told TNT Sports. “I thought about every which way to Sunday besides driving a race car under that red flag … Just so proud of this team. That adrenaline rush is crazy, because I’m coming off that right now and I am wore out.
“… To overcome so much and to put these people here in Victory Lane, that’s what it’s about. It’s about these people that continue to push me, believe in me, and just so proud.”
The victory marked something of a coming of age win for Wallace, an emotional and somewhat mercurial driver, as it came through overcoming adversity and rising to the occasion under pressure that may have felled him in the past. It also marked the first time that Wallace, a new father in the last year, got to hold his infant son Becks aloft in triumph as a race winner.
“Welcome to Victory Lane, Becks,” Wallace said. “That’s pretty cool.”
Larson in second, Denny Hamlin in third, Ryan Preece in fourth and Brad Keselowski in fifth made up the rest of the top five. The remainder of the top 10 was Todd Gilliland in sixth, Ryan Blaney seventh, Christopher Bell eighth, Alex Bowman ninth and Carson Hocevar 10th.
Wallace wasn’t the only winner on Sunday, as Ty Gibbs would win NASCAR’s inaugural In-Season Challenge with a 21st-place finish. Gibbs prevailed in his championship matchup with Ty Dillon, who finished three laps down in 28th after he was one of multiple cars to suffer major nose damage in a stackup on a restart.
With their win in the first in-season tournament of its kind, Gibbs and the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing team earned a $1 million midseason bonus.
Brickyard 400 results
- #23 – Bubba Wallace
- #5 – Kyle Larson
- #11 – Denny Hamlin
- #60 – Ryan Preece
- #6 – Brad Keselowski
- #34 – Todd Gilliland
- #12 – Ryan Blaney
- #20 – Christopher Bell
- #48 – Alex Bowman
- #77 – Carson Hocevar
- #7 – Justin Haley
- #42 – John Hunter Nemechek
- #9 – Chase Elliott
- #17 – Chris Buescher
- #2 – Austin Cindric
- #24 – William Byron
- #78 – Katherine Legge
- #19 – Chase Briscoe
- #88 – Shane van Gisbergen (R)
- #41 – Cole Custer
- #54 – Ty Gibbs
- #21 – Josh Berry
- #16 – A.J. Allmendinger
- #62 – Jesse Love
- #8 – Kyle Busch
- #35 – Riley Herbst (R)
- #99 – Daniel Suarez
- #10 – Ty Dillon
- #45 – Tyler Reddick
- #71 – Michael McDowell
- #38 – Zane Smith
- #22 – Joey Logano
- #4 – Noah Gragson
- #66 – Josh Bilicki
- #47 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- #43 – Erik Jones
- #51 – Cody Ware
- #3 – Austin Dillon
- #1 – Ross Chastain
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