Last year, Kyle Larson won the Brickyard 400. The Hendrick Motorsports star rallied from a loose wheel and a 23rd starting spot to clinch the 2024 victory, leading the final 31 laps. Considering the sheer dominance that Larson has displayed in the first stretch of 2025, it looked like he would continue it in the second half by defending his crown. However, despite having two front row starring spots in overtime, a thoroughly motivated Bubba Wallace was a big thorn in Larson’s path.

The 23XI Racing driver had been in the doldrums for the past three years. Having won last at Kansas Speedway in September 2022, Bubba Wallace was under tremendous pressure to prove his mettle. However, he remembered only the inspirational words of his team owner, Michael Jordan, on Sunday as he battled to victory lane in an emotional triumph.

How Bubba Wallace snuffed out the worries

There was plenty to worry about, as Bubba Wallace’s team, 23XI Racing, is currently in the middle of a crisis. All three cars of 23XI Racing lost their charters in a court ruling recently, as their preliminary injunction to race as a chartered team was rejected. This is part of the broader NASCSR lawsuit involving 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, and it proved to be a mental battle for the team. 23XI Racing has been winless all season. Meanwhile, Bubba Wallace also sat right above the playoff cutline entering this race, and had a lot of pressure.

As if the NASCAR lawsuit was not enough, Bubba Wallace‘s winless streak of 100 races dug deep into his shoulders. However, 2025 has marked a turning point for the driver. From becoming a father to Becks Hayden last year to receiving guidance from new crew chief Charles Denike in the pit stall, the changes have worked well for Wallace’s improved finishes. But the cherry on top of the cake was the impact of having a six-time NBA champion as a team owner.

Bubba Wallace was comfortably ahead of Kyle Larson with four laps left in the Brickyard 400. But the doubts crept in when NASCAR called a rain caution, extending the race. Then another caution came out because of a five-car wreck. Wallace hoped to God and Michael Jordan that his fuel would last. He remembered Jordan’s 6-word mantra at this crucial time: “Things you want more cost more.” That is how Wallace could finish 0.222 seconds ahead of Larson to take the checkered flag. He said in an emotional post-race interview, “To be the best, you have to beat the best. We can all say Kyle Larson is the best right now.” 

Larson had also previously out-dueled Bubba Wallace and Alex Bowman at Homestead Miami Speedway, a race where Bubba recorded his previous highest finish of the season in third place. This time, Bubba was not letting anything get in his way after getting a golden opportunity to break his winless streak. The overflow of emotions was evident after the triumph, but as the laps wound down with Wallace in the lead, he revealed the swirl of uneasy thoughts that crept in.

Bubba Wallace reflected on the negative emotions flooding him in the last stretch of the race. “I hate that I started counting the eggs before they hatched. I started to think of who to thank and how big the celebration is going to be, then I go and miss a corner, like ‘easy! Focus! My car was going extremely loose, and I can not drive these things loose at all. I started thinking, Oh man, this is it, this is over with.” Wallace reflected on how daunting it was to have to go up against one of the best in the business in an overtime restart, saying, “This s— is so hard. I look in the mirror, and I’m like, ‘here we go with the 5 [Kyle Larson], what’s going to happen?'”

Eventually, however, Michael Jordan and Wallace’s baby came to his rescue. Bubba Wallace said, “Then I started thinking about my son, I started thinking about what MJ would say, and all of a sudden, the car got better. It was like, ‘okay, this is our race still,’ those last 20 laps were a surreal moment for me to be a part of and be in the passenger seat for. Yes, I’m extremely worn out, mentally, physically.”

Clearly, Bubba Wallace could cross heaven and hell because of his inspirational team owner. What is more? Even his rival acknowledged his prowess.

Accepting his defeat sorely

While Bubba Wallace enjoyed a tearful victory, Kyle Larson missed out on a much-awaited one. In late May, the HMS star crashed out of his ‘Double’ efforts. A 24th-place result in the Indy 500 and a 37th-place finish at the Coca-Cola 600 dampened his spirits. Larson entered a slumber for the next two months, registering two DNFs at Mexico City and Sonoma. This was hardly becoming of the 2021 Cup Series champion, used to a consistent drive every other weekend. Thus, Larson was convinced to break back into Victory Lane, and he aimed to defend his Brickyard 400 crown for the purpose. However, he could not best Wallace’s speed on both late-race restarts.

Kyle Larson acknowledged the No. 23 Toyota team’s solid pace: “He was first gear on both of them. He was just a little bit faster-paced for the restart zone.” However, Larson was content with the No. 5 Chevy team’s runner-up finish, adding, “It was a solid day. The beginning of the race didn’t go well. I didn’t have a good start… But our team just did a good job with the strategy that we were on. And we executed the green-flag cycles really good.” The HMS #5 appreciated Bubba Wallace more: “He [Bubba Wallace] was able to kind of maximize what we had going on. I wasn’t really expecting the guys on two tires to come out in front of me like that, but it is what it is.”

Both Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson felt grateful for their Brickyard 400 finishes. As the 2025 season rolls on, let us wait and see what magic they can conjure next. What did you think of Bubba Wallace’s inspiring victory at the Brickyard? Let us know in the comments