INDIANAPOLIS (Sunday, July 27, 2025) – Bubba Wallace overcame two rivals – Kyle Larson and a dwindling gas tank – in double overtime to earn a dramatic and historic victory Sunday in the Brickyard 400 presented by PPG at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Wallace edged 2024 Brickyard 400 winner Larson by .222 of a second in the No. 23 Chumba Casino Toyota fielded by 23XI Racing, co-owned by basketball legend Michael Jordan and NASCAR star Denny Hamlin, to snap a 100-race NASCAR Cup Series winless streak dating to fall 2022. Wallace, who earned a spot in the NASCAR playoffs with the victory, became the first African American driver to win the NASCAR crown jewel event at IMS.
“That adrenaline rush is crazy,” Wallace said. “I’m worn out. Unbelievable. To win here at the Brickyard, knowing how big this race is, knowing all the noise that’s going on in the background, to set that all aside is a testament to these people here on this 23 team. It’s been getting old, running on the (playoffs) cut line.
“How many days since my last win? Zero.”
Hamlin completed a climb from the 39th and last starting spot to finish third in the No. 11 Progressive Toyota. Ryan Preece placed fourth in the No. 60 Castrol The Engine Ford, and 2018 Brickyard 400 winner Brad Keselowski rounded out the top five in the No. 6 Body Guard Ford.
Ty Gibbs finished 21st in the No. 54 SAIA LTL Freight Toyota to earn a $1 million bonus for Joe Gibbs Racing as the winner of the inaugural NASCAR In-Season Challenge, a single-elimination tournament that started four races ago with 32 drivers. Ty Dillon, Gibbs’ rival for the prize, finished 28th in the No. 10 Sea Best Chevrolet.
Wallace took the lead for good in the race, scheduled for 160 laps, when leader Ryan Blaney pitted in the No. 12 Menards/Delta Ford on Lap 143. At that point, Wallace was 4.911 seconds ahead of teammate Tyler Reddick in the No. 45 Xfinity Mobile Toyota and appeared to be on cruise control to victory.
Larson jumped to second in the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Hendrick 1100 Chevrolet by Lap 146 but was 5.047 seconds behind Wallace. Then Larson began to chip away at Wallace’s lead, trimming the gap to 3.180 seconds by Lap 154.
It appeared Larson would run out of laps to catch Wallace, but Wallace had another problem – he might run out of gas. Wallace made his final pit stop on Lap 117, and the expected distance for a full tank of fuel was approximately 40 laps. Larson made his final stop on Lap 121 and appeared to have enough fuel to run at full tilt to the finish.
Another wrinkle was added to the drama of the closing laps when light rain started to fall in Turn 1 of the giant, 2.5-mile oval, triggering the fifth caution period of the race on Lap 156. The rain then intensified, and the red flag was shown and all cars came to pit road on Lap 157, with no service allowed under red-flag conditions.
The race was headed to overtime, increasing the anxiety for Wallace and crew chief Charles Denike. The first restart came on Lap 162, with Wallace starting on the inside and Larson on the outside. Wallace pulled ahead in Turn 2, but the caution flag flew for the sixth and final time when Christopher Bell’s No. 20 Rheem Toyota hit Zane Smith’s No. 38 Aaron’s Rent To Own Ford from behind, sending it into the outside wall on the back straightaway.
Wallace and Larson took the same track positions on the second restart on Lap 167, and Wallace pulled away in Turn 1. This time, there was no caution during the first lap of the green-white-checkered finish to halt the race for a third restart. Larson looked high and low for a spot to pass Wallace on the 168th and final lap, but Wallace provided no opportunity.
Not only did Wallace have enough fuel to take the checkered flag, he also performed multiple, smoky burnouts in his car on the front straightaway after his cooldown lap.
Austin Cindric led the most laps (40) in the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford, all in the first 83 laps of the race. But his chances to claim a Brickyard victory for Team Penske ended while leading on Lap 84 when his right rear tire went flat while approximately six seconds ahead of teammate Joey Logano in the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford.
Pole sitter Chase Briscoe, a native of Mitchell, Indiana, led 34 laps but finished 18th in the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota.
