Bubba Wallace finally did it, and did it big. On Sunday, Wallace powered through chaos, pressure, and two overtimes to take the checkered flag at the Brickyard 400, becoming the first Black driver ever to win a major race on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s iconic 2.5-mile oval.
“This one’s really cool,” Wallace said, grinning post-race. “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.”
The 31-year-old’s win was emotional, dramatic, and long overdue. It ended a 100-race winless streak that dated all the way back to Kansas in 2022, and it locked him into the playoffs in style.
And not just any win, this one came at one of NASCAR’s crown jewels. Wallace now has a Brickyard victory to go with his 2021 Talladega win and his Kansas triumph. The Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, and Southern 500 remain, but this one? This one’s special.
It wasn’t a clean cruise to the finish. Wallace led late, but a yellow flag with four laps to go — thanks to some classic Indy weather drama — brought the field to a stop and pushed Wallace into overthink mode.
“The whole time I’m thinking: are we going? Are we not? Don’t get complacent here,” Wallace said.
The answer: yes, they were going. Twice.
On the first restart, Wallace got the jump on defending champ Kyle Larson, only to be hit with a crash behind him and yet another overtime.
With gas running low, the 23XI crew debated whether Wallace needed to pit. He didn’t flinch.
He held off Larson again in the second restart and sealed the deal — denying Larson a back-to-back Brickyard win and snatching a win that had eluded Wallace for far too long.
Sunday’s win isn’t just a personal milestone — it’s a big moment for NASCAR.
No Black driver has ever won the Indy 500, and F1 has only raced on the IMS road course. Wallace’s win at the Brickyard puts him in a lane of his own — and adds a huge boost for 23XI Racing, the team co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin.
That team, by the way, is currently embroiled in a legal fight with NASCAR over charter status. Sunday’s win was about a lot more than just trophies.
“This one means a lot,” Wallace admitted. “To beat the best, we had to be the best today.”
Ty Gibbs may not have won the race, but he left with a fat check. Gibbs took home the $1 million prize in NASCAR’s in-season tournament, finishing ahead of Ty Dillon in the final showdown of the single-elimination challenge. He came in 21st overall — but first where it counted.
Not a bad day to be named Ty.
With input from The Associated Press
tags: Bubba Wallace, Brickyard 400, NASCAR, 23XI Racing, Michael Jordan, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, motorsports, racing, history, Black athletes, sports and culture, in-season tournament, Indy, racing news, U.S. sports
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