Bubba Wallace Wins Brickyard 400 On Fumes In 2OT Finish

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — In the 116-year history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, there has never been an African-American winner on the IMS oval… until now!

Bubba Wallace, who races for 23XI Racing, which is partially owned by Michael Jordan, was able to save just enough fuel when the race was forced into an overtime scenario not once, but twice.

“I’m wore out,” Wallace said. “We finally did it. To be the best, you have to beat the best. We executed and hit our marks. We’re in (the playoffs). That’s all that matters!”

Chase Briscoe, from Mitchell, Indiana, started on the pole for the race and was able to lead the majority of the race’s first of three stages. He led a strong Toyota-powered contingent, which had five of the top five drivers starting the race.

It appeared to be a strong showing for Toyota, but after the race’s first caution, brought out by Ross Chastain on Lap 19, Team Penske took a gamble to stay out and gain track position. Austin Cindric was the lead beneficiary of the strategy call.

Cindric cycled to the front and eventually led the most laps of the race, running out in front for 40 laps. One of those laps he led, ended up virtually ending his day as he blew a tire near the race’s halfway point while leading.

The same thing happened to his teammate, Joey Logano, after the final round of pit stops on Lap 117.

After Logano’s misfortune, the ball fell into the court of Bubba Wallace, who cycled to the lead and never relinquished it. Still, he had to earn it to the end as the race was forced to a red flag due to a late rain shower in Turn 1.

This forced the race into an overtime scenario in which the race had to end under a green flag. On the first attempt at overtime, Zane Smith and Tyler Reddick crashed. This brought around another restart, but the concern was severe for Wallace when it came to how much fuel he had left.

Wallace’s crew told him to stay out as long as possible, and it turned out to be the race-winning decision. Wallace took the green flag in the lead, the white flag in the lead, and then the checkered flag, holding off a charging Kyle Larson.

The win for Wallace also secured him an important position in the NASCAR Playoffs. Along with points, he is now ninth in the playoff picture, which also protects him from elimination should we see more than 16 different drivers win a race.

The victory also snaps a 100-race losing streak since his last win at Kansas in 2022.

Bubba Wallace Wins Brickyard 400 On Fumes In Double OT Finish  was originally published on wibc.com