Bubba Wallace was in control with six laps to go in the Brickyard 400 when it started to rain in turn one, close on fuel. Wallace was able to survive the red flag for red and the two overtimes to follow to win the third race of his NASCAR Cup Series career and his first crown jewel. He broke a 100-race winless streak to do so.
"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 to the side is a testament to these people here on this No. 23 team," Wallace told NASCAR on TNT. "It’s been getting old running on the cut line."
Wallace has been teetering at the cut line all season,
Wallace first took what would be the race lead when Logano blew a tire while running in sixth place with 30 laps remaining, with the five cars ahead nowhere close on fuel, Wallace was the first driver on the winning strategy and took the lead once Ryan Blaney and Katherine Legge went to the pits with 17 laps to go.
Wallace's teammate, Tyler Reddick, followed him to second before Kyle Larson, last year's winner, took it from him on the same lap. Wallace was controlling the race with six laps to go when the yellow was thrown for rain, as it grew stronger on the front stretch and turn one, NASCAR had the drivers come down the pit row for the red flag with four laps to go. Ensuring that if the race was to get back going, it would end in a green-white-checkers.
After 20 minutes of racing, the cars returned to the 2.5-mile oval, and Wallace was told he had enough fuel for one GWC.
"We were in good shape on pace there and fine on fuel until the end," Wallace's crew chief Charles Denike said. "So now, like everyone else, we’re trying to save that little bit of room for a green white checkers."
When pit row opened, Reddick, Ty Gibbs, Chase Elliott, and Austin Cindric all pitted for fuel.
The leaders stayed out and Wallace lined up on the inside next to Larson, with Larson's Hendricks teammate William Byron behind.
Wallace cleared Larson off of turn two, but a crash further down in the field on the backstretch set up the second GWC.
Zane Smith got turned around trying to block, and Christopher Bell accidentally hooked him on the straightaway. Smith hit the wall and collected Reddick.
On the next restart, Wallace clears again, grabs the white flag, and has enough gas to make it around Indianapolis Motor Speedway the final time en route to a Crown Jewel victory.
"I’m just so proud of this team, that adrenaline rush is crazy because I’m coming off that right now, and I’m worn out," Wallace said after exiting the car. "I just want to thank everybody behind me right here. All these men and women at Airspeed for making this possible."
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