This year’s Brickyard 400 was no exception. What should have been a straightforward finish turned into a heart-pounding test of nerves, strategy, and survival once the race slipped into overtime. And very few things in NASCAR store as much drama and intensity as overtime finishes. Designed to ensure racing under green flag conditions, NASCAR’s overtime format has transformed the way fans experience the final laps, turning potential anticlimaxes into heart-stopping sprints to the checkered flag.

For drivers, it is a double-edged sword, a shot at glory for some, a nightmare for others caught in late-race chaos. At its core, NASCAR overtime is simply in theory, but nerve-wracking in practice. This system doesn’t just test speed, it also tests nerves. The tension was more evident than at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the overtime rule shaped one of the most dramatic finishes.

Since 2016, NASCAR officially adopted the term NASCAR overtime, an updated version of the long-standing green-white checkered finish. The purpose is to ensure races finish under green flag conditions rather than anticlimactic cautions. When a caution occurs during the race’s closing laps, specifically before the white flag lap, the event enters overtime. The field is reset, and it is a two-lap shootout between the race leaders.

NASCAR now allows unlimited overtime attempts until a clean two-lap finish under green is achieved. The rules stipulate that once the leader crosses the start/finish line to take the white flag, the next flag, be it a yellow or checkered one, is taken, and the race immediately ends. That ensures the finish feels legitimate under racing conditions.

As of today’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the race has indeed gone into overtime due to a caution in the final laps. With just a few laps left to go, rain and then an on-track incident for NASCAR to display the yellow flag, bringing the race into an unstable extension beyond its planned 160 laps.

Current live updates indicate that the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is now on its second overtime restart attempt following a wreck on the backstretch that triggered another caution before the white flag could be shown. The field has been reset, and tracked conditions, including drying in turn one, have been addressed before green was waved again.

Leading up to the overtime chaos, Bubba Wallace had been out front, followed by Kyle Larson and several others. NASCAR officials continue preparing for the next green flag attempt once the track is declared safe, meaning competitors will again tackle a green flag lap, then the white flag, and finally the checkered flag to determine the winner of the Brickyard 400 in overtime. But things are looking quite different for Bubba Wallace and perhaps even exciting.

Bubba Wallace becomes the first black driver to win the Brickyard 400 after an overtime restart

Bubba Wallace etched his name into NASCAR history on Sunday by becoming the first black driver to win at Indiana Motor Speedway’s iconic 2.5-mile oval, conjuring a whirlwind of challenges to capture the Brickyard 400. His win didn’t come easy; he endured a late rain delay, survived two tense overtime restarts, managed fears of running out of fuel, and held off a surging Kyle Larson in the closing moments. The victory wasn’t just a breakthrough for Wallace; it marked his first win in one of NASCAR’s four crown jewels and snapped a grueling hundred-race winless streak dating back to Kansas in 2022.

The moment carried a weight that went far beyond the track. As well as crossing the famous yard of bricks, the 23XI Racing driver shouted “Unbelievable!” over his radio, knowing this was not only his third career Cup Series win but also his most significant. Before Sunday, his only victories had come at Talladega in 2021 and Kansas the following year, solid achievements but not on the grand stage of IMS. Now, he stood in the same victory lane as some of NASCAR’s most legendary names, making this win a milestone for his career and for the sport’s history books.

The path to that victory lane, however, was anything but smooth. With 14 laps remaining, Wallace had a comfortable lead over Larson, more than five seconds, but the skies opened up and rain brought out a caution. The cars rolled to a stop on pit road with four laps to go, leaving Wallace with nearly 20 agonizing minutes to think and rethink his restart approach. When the green flag waved, he beat Hendrick Motorsport‘s Larson into turn 2, but chaos struck again; a crash in the back triggered a second overtime attempt, stretching the race even further and raising alarms within his crew about fuel levels.

In the end, Wallace’s gamble paid off. He stayed out on track, knowing a pitstop would all but hand the win to someone else, and nailed his final restart, once again beating Larson off the line. That move not only prevented Larson from becoming the fourth back-to-back Brickyard winner but also erased the sting of Saturday’s qualifying frustration, when Wallace held the provisional pole only to be edged out by Chase Briscoe. On Sunday, none of that mattered, as he was the one kissing the bricks, and NASCAR history had a new chapter written in bold.