Wallace had to conserve fuel through a short rain delay and double NASCAR overtime in addition to holding off defending winner Kyle Larson.
INDIANAPOLIS — Bubba Wallace survived a late-race rain delay and double NASCAR overtime to win his third career Cup race in the Brickyard 400 on Sunday.
Wallace inherited the lead with less than 30 laps to go when net-race leader Joey Logano blew a tire and had to make an unscheduled pit stop.
That meant Wallace, who qualified second on Saturday, was in position to win his first-ever Brickyard. However, second place driver Kyle Larson, who not only was the defending winner of the race but also someone with more laps driven at IMS than anyone else this year, was on slightly fresher tires.
Had the race played out to the end, Wallace probably would have won easily. But nothing is easy in NASCAR.
With six laps remaining, the caution flag flew for rain. This triggered a near 30-minute red flag as NASCAR worked to quickly dry the track.
Once the race resumed, there were looming questions about how long the leaders could last on fuel. Wallace and Larson were reportedly good to go on fuel for one overtime, but two was possibly stretching it.
During the first overtime attempt, Zane Smith spun on the backstretch and collected Wallace’s teammate Tyler Reddick. Wallace had to fight Kyle Larson on the restart before, and now he had to do it again—with slightly less fuel.
As the green flag waved on the second overtime attempt, Wallace sent his No. 23 Toyota into Turn 1 and took the lead when Larson got loose on the outside. That wiggle by Larson was just enough for Wallace to speed away for the victory.
Wallace was emotional after the race. He had not won a Cup race since Kansas Speedway in 2022. He won a Daytona 500 qualifying race earlier this year, but finally got to celebrate a points victory with his infant son.
Tire Problems
While thankfully not as bad as the debacle of 2008, several drivers suffered tire blowouts during Sunday’s race.
By the fifteenth lap, drivers were reportedly beginning to feel significant degradation of their tires. The pace slowed from what it was on the opening laps and it became clear tire management was going to be a big part of the next 120+ laps.
Michael McDowell cut a tire on Lap 26, but was able to make it back to the pit lane without necessitating a caution flag.
Later, during the race’s second stage on lap 78, Cole Custer cut a right rear tire. Again, no caution was thrown. However, roughly six laps later, then-race leader Austin Cindric began to slow on the front stretch.
Cindric had also cut a right rear tire and had to nurse his No. 2 Team Penske Ford around the 2.5 mile oval to get back to the pit lane. Once again, NASCAR did not throw the yellow.
It wasn’t until lap 90 that NASCAR finally thew the yellow. Erik Jones appeared to have a loose wheel and crashed in Turns 3-4.
The tires appeared to be holding up through the beginning of the final stage, but Joey Logano’s Lap 132 blown tire derailed that streak. Logano was not technically in the lead at the time, but he was the first driver in the field to have pitted during that cycle. Had he not blown the tire, he would have inherited the race lead.
In-Season Challenge Results
It was Ty vs. Ty for the $1 million prize in the NASCAR In-Season Challenge. Ty Gibbs, who qualified fifth, finished the race in 21st place, seven spots ahead of challenger Ty Dillon, who was caught up in an accident and finished 29th.
Up Next
NASCAR now moves on to the Iowa Speedway for a 350-lap race at 3:30 p.m. ET on Aug. 3.
By virtue of his Brickyard 400 victory, Bubba Wallace has locked himself into the playoffs and is currently seeded ninth.
Chase Elliott leads the regular season points standings by just four points over teammate William Byron and 15 points over his other teammate Kyle Larson.