Bubba Wallace Makes History: First Black Driver Wins Indy’s Brickyard 400

Indianapolis – Bubba Wallace celebrated a historic victory at the Brickyard 400, a moment that will be etched in the memory of the fans. After getting out of car number 23, Wallace, visibly excited, celebrated with his family and savored every moment of this unparalleled triumph. The 31-year-old driver overcame a series of challenges, including a rain interruption, two exciting extensions, concerns about fuel, and the pressure from defending champion Kyle Larson.

A Historic Milestone

This victory makes Wallace the first African American driver to win a major race on the 2.5-mile oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A significant achievement, considering that no black driver has won the Indianapolis 500.

This is a very special victory. Coming out of turn 4, I knew I would make it, unless we ran out of gas. I was surprised I wasn’t crying like a baby.

Bubba Wallace

This is Wallace’s third victory in the NASCAR Cup and the first in one of the series’ most prestigious events, including the Daytona 500, the Coca-Cola 600, and the Southern 500. In addition, he broke a streak of 100 races without winning, dating back to 2022. The final difference was only 0.222 seconds, but the tension was palpable.

The yellow flag for rain forced the drivers to stop in the pit lane, which forced Wallace to reconsider his strategy.

I was constantly thinking about whether we were going to race or not. I leaned more towards ‘I know we’re going to race again. Be ready. Don’t get complacent here’.

Bubba Wallace

Wallace made sure he was ready. In the second restart, Wallace overtook Larson again, preventing him from becoming the fourth consecutive winner of the race. This victory also relieved Wallace’s frustration, who last Saturday was close to the pole position, but Chase Briscoe snatched first place from him. The triumph was an added boost for the 23XI Racing team, co-owned by Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan and last week’s race winner, Denny Hamlin.

Those last 20 laps had ups and downs and I was telling myself ‘You can’t do it’. Once I saw it was Larson, I knew he had won here last year and that he is possibly the best in the field. So to beat the best, we had to be the best today.

Bubba Wallace

Regarding the In-Season Challenge, Ty Gibbs took the victory, surpassing Ty Dillon in the standings and in the race. Gibbs finished in 21st place and took home the prize of one million dollars. Dillon, who entered the championship round as the last-ranked driver, finished in 28th place.