SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Bubba Wallace surged to victory in the 2025 Brickyard 400 on Sunday, July 27, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, clinching his third career NASCAR Cup Series win and securing a playoff berth. The No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota driver held off Kyle Larson by 0.222 seconds in double overtime, ending a 100-race winless streak with a historic triumph as the first Black driver to win on Indy’s 2.5-mile oval. Teammate Tyler Reddick was there to embrace Wallace in victory lane.
In victory lane, Wallace shared an emotional embrace with teammate and mentor Tyler Reddick, who finished 18th after a late-race collision with Zane Smith in the first overtime. Smith’s spin, triggered by contact with Christopher Bell, sent Reddick’s No. 45 Toyota into Smith’s No. 38 Ford, ending Reddick’s shot at a second consecutive Brickyard 400 podium. Despite the setback, Reddick celebrated Wallace’s breakthrough, displaying sportsmanship. “Bubba earned this one,” Reddick said on TNT. “I’m proud of him. He’s got the heart of a champion.”
Wallace’s win, his first since Kansas in 2022, locked him into the 16-driver playoff field with four races remaining. The victory tightened the playoff bubble for Reddick, who sits 156 points above the cutline but remains winless in 2025. Reddick, a road course ace, can secure a playoff spot with a win at Iowa Speedway next weekend or at Watkins Glen, where he triumphed in 2022.
The race, slowed by six cautions for 28 laps and 15 lead changes, saw Wallace lead three times for 23 laps. A red flag for rain with four laps left erased his four-second lead, but he stretched fuel through two restarts to claim the crown jewel event. Per NASCAR.com, the top 10 finishers were: 1. Bubba Wallace, 2. Kyle Larson, 3. Denny Hamlin, 4. Ryan Preece, 5. Brad Keselowski, 6. Todd Gilliland, 7. Ryan Blaney, 8. Christopher Bell, 9. Alex Bowman, 10. Carson Hocevar.
Wallace, addressing critics on X, declared, “How many days since my last NASCAR Cup Series win? Zero.”
His triumph, celebrated with his infant son, Becks, in victory lane, marked a defining moment for 23XI Racing amid its legal fight with NASCAR.
Denny Hamlin is saving NASCAR.
