Bubba Wallace Makes Major Playoff Bubble Gain with Top-Five in Brickyard 400

The decision to bring the NASCAR Cup Series back onto the oval configuration of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was welcomed by many drivers in the field, especially Bubba Wallace.

Although the Mobile, Alabama-native had some decent results on the infield road course, Wallace had thrived in the two most recent runnings of the Brickyard 400 in 2019 and 2020, scoring a top-five and two top-10 finishes driving for Richard Petty Motorsports.

In Sunday’s Brickyard 400, four years after the last NASCAR Cup Series event on the 2.5-mile speedway, Wallace continued his success, finishing inside the top five with his No. 23 U.S. Air Force Toyota Camry XSE.

With track position being at a premium around Indianapolis, all forces were at play in Sunday’s prestigious event – with a good finish requiring a fast car, a driver able to make aggressive moves and passes, and a fantastic strategy.

That strategy, with calls being made by veteran crew chief Bootie Barker, allowed Wallace to inherit the race lead on Lap 76, which the 23XI Racing driver was then able to parlay into winning the race’s second stage, earning 10 valuable stage points, and one playoff point.

Wallace led 26 circuits around the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the most laps the 30-year-old racer has led in a NASCAR Cup Series event since Texas last Fall.

A massive helping of points wasn’t the only thing gained by that one strategy call, seeing as the No. 23 was now in the perfect position to make their final pit stop at Lap 112, and then avoid the mid-pack chaos that erupted during the final stage and settling into the top-10 with some major fuel saving still to do.

Even with seven laps of additional racing, which were triggered by a pair of NASCAR Overtime restarts, Wallace was able to make the fuel stretch just long enough to bring home a fifth-place finish, his fourth top-five of 2024, before running out on the cooldown lap.

“We were fifth – what a day. I just did not do a good job on Friday and Saturday and set us behind for track position. I really don’t know what our car had, but I knew the people we had on it, and that is what matters the most,” said Wallace. “I appreciate Bootie [Barker] and the gang for just giving me a car to work with. The No. 23 US Air Force Toyota Camry was really, really fast. It felt really good.”

“After a few laps, I was like, I don’t know what we have – but it is good to be back on the oval. The finish is making my mood better, but it was really difficult to pass. All-in-all, a good day. A good points day,” Wallace added.

It was indeed a good points day, with Wallace earning 42 regular season points towards his cause of making the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Just three weeks ago, it looked as though Wallace would need a victory to make the Playoffs, sitting 50-plus points below the cutline. But, in the last three weeks, things have flipped at the snap of a finger.

Now, with finishes of 13^th at Chicago, a top-10 result at Pocono, and Sunday’s fifth-place finish in the Brickyard 400, a gap that was once believed to be insurmountable has practically vanished heading into NASCAR’s two-week Olympic break.

With only four races until the end of the regular season, the gap is significantly more manageable for Wallace, who now only sits a mere seven points behind Ross Chastain, and 17 points behind Chris Buescher, who sits 15^th on the Playoff Grid.

Now, Wallace and 23XI Racing will have two weeks to regroup and recharge, as they make a final hard charge towards securing a berth into the post-season for a second straight year, making stops at Richmond, Michigan, Daytona, and Darlington.

Photo Credit: Tyson Gifford, TobyChristie.com