Wallace Makes History at Indy: First Black Driver Wins the Brickyard 400

INDIANAPOLIS – Bubba Wallace made history by winning the Brickyard 400, marking a milestone for the African American community at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Wallace, at the wheel of car number 23, celebrated his triumph effusively, after overcoming a race full of challenges, including a rain interruption, two exciting overtime periods, and the pressure from Kyle Larson, the defending champion.

This victory is something very special. 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 little kid.
Bubba Wallace

This triumph represents Wallace’s third victory in the NASCAR Cup and his first win in one of the series’ four most prestigious events, joining the Daytona 500, the Coca-Cola 600, and the Southern 500. Furthermore, he ended a 100-race winless streak, dating back to 2022 in Kansas, securing a playoff spot. His other victory was at Talladega in 2021. The final difference was 0.222 seconds, but the race was full of tension.

Bubba Wallace's Brickyard 400 win is his first at one of NASCAR’s four crown jewel races. — Bubba Wallace celebra su victoria en el Brickyard 400, su primer triunfo en una de las carreras más importantes de NASCAR.

Wallace’s strategy was tested by the rain and yellow flags, forcing him to rethink the restart strategy.

Throughout the whole time, I was thinking about whether we were going to continue or not. I leaned more towards ‘I know we’re going to race again. Be ready. Don’t get complacent here’.
Bubba Wallace

Wallace managed to overtake Larson on the second restart, securing the victory and preventing Larson from becoming the fourth consecutive race winner. This victory also served to alleviate Wallace’s frustration, who had had a difficult qualifying session on Saturday. 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 were 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

In another highlight event, Ty Gibbs took the victory in the In-Season Challenge, surpassing Ty Dillon. Gibbs, after finishing in 21st place, won the single-elimination tournament, similar to March Madness, and took home a prize of one million dollars. Dillon, who reached the championship round as the last qualified driver, finished in 28th place.