Photo: Getty Images North America
Bubba Wallace has made motorsports history.
On Sunday (July 27), Wallace secured a win in the Brickyard 400 on Indianapolis Motor Speedway's oval.
Wallace overcame an 18-minute rain delay, fuel concerns, two overtimes, and a late charge from the defending winner, Kyle Larson, to earn his third career NASCAR Cup Series victory. Sunday also marked the first time a Black driver has ever won a major race on Indy's famed 2.5-mile oval.
“This one’s really cool,” Wallace said. “Coming off Turn 4, I knew I was going to get there — unless we ran out of gas. I was surprised I wasn’t crying like a little baby.”
Wallace began the day behind pole-sitter Chase Briscoe after nearly missing the top qualifying spot on Saturday (July 26). However, Wallace was able to hold off Larson twice in back-to-back restarts during overtime as his team debated whether he had enough fuel to finish. The final margin was just 0.222 seconds.
“I want to win this straight up,” Wallace said of the late-race gamble. “To beat the best, we had to be the best today.”
Sunday's victory broke a 100-race winless streak dating back to Kansas in 2022. Wallace has now secured a spot in the NASCAR playoffs and joins the ranks of NASCAR’s Daytona 500, Southern 500, and Coca-Cola 600 winners. The driver's historic win also marks a milestone for his team, 23XI Racing, co-owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin.
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