Wallace Wins One for the Bricks: Bubba Goes Big in Brickyard 400 Thriller

In a finish that had fans clutching their seat cushions and gas gauges gasping for hope, Bubba Wallace held off Kyle Larson and a fuel tank on fumes to capture the 2025 Brickyard 400 presented by PPG in dramatic double-overtime fashion Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Wallace, wheeling the No. 23 Chumba Casino Toyota for 23XI Racing, snapped a 100-race winless drought and made history as the first African American driver to win NASCAR’s crown jewel event at the Brickyard. The emotion overflowed as Wallace took the checkered flag after 168 grueling laps, defying strategy, weather delays, and a hard-charging Kyle Larson by just .222 of a second.

But that wasn’t all on the line. Teammate Ty Gibbs added icing to Toyota’s Sunday celebration, finishing 21st and securing a $1 million payday as the winner of NASCAR’s In-Season Challenge Tournament, beating Ty Dillon head-to-head in the final.

Ryan Blaney looked like the man to beat late in regulation, but a pit stop with 17 to go handed the reins to Wallace, who did his best to manage a shrinking lead, worsening skies, and the looming threat of running out of fuel. Then came the fifth caution on Lap 156 for light rain, which triggered a red flag and sent nerves skyrocketing in the 23XI pit box.

When the race finally restarted, Wallace held firm through a green-white-checkered sprint, survived a second restart following a wreck behind him, and blocked every lane Larson tried to open. With enough gas left for celebratory burnouts—and maybe a few tears—Wallace roared into Victory Lane and the history books.