INDIANAPOLIS – Bubba Wallace made history by becoming the first Black driver to win on the 2.5-mile oval of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The victory in the Brickyard 400 came after a race full of challenges, including a rain delay and two overtime periods.
This is Wallace’s third victory in the NASCAR Cup, and the most significant to date. In addition, it ended a streak of 100 races without wins dating back to 2022 in Kansas. Previously, he had won at Talladega in 2021. It is his first triumph in one of NASCAR’s four most prestigious races.
Incredible!
Bubba Wallace
Despite the final difference of 0.222 seconds, the victory was not without complications.
Bubba Wallace celebra su victoria en el Brickyard 400, su primer triunfo en una de las carreras más importantes de NASCAR.Kyle Larson, who was chasing Wallace, got within 5.057 seconds with 14 laps to go, but the gap was reduced to about three seconds when the yellow flag came out due to rain. The cars stopped in the pit lane with four laps remaining, giving Wallace about 20 extra minutes to plan his restart strategy.
After overtaking Larson in the second turn, a crash behind the leaders caused a second overtime, extending the race even further. Wallace’s team feared he would run out of fuel.
Wallace risked everything by staying on the track and beat the winner of the previous race on the restart to prevent Larson from becoming the fourth consecutive Brickyard winner.
This victory also relieved the frustration Wallace felt on Saturday, when he spent most of the qualifying session in provisional pole, only to be overtaken by Chase Briscoe in one of the last runs of the session.
Victory is an added boost for 23XI Racing, co-owned by Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan and last week’s race winner, Denny Hamlin, as they continue their legal battle with NASCAR over their franchise status.
