{"id":17873,"date":"2026-07-26T14:24:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T09:24:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=17873"},"modified":"2026-07-26T14:24:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T09:24:13","slug":"bubba-wallace-hopes-to-build-on-life-changing-moment-by-adding-a-2nd-brickyard-400-win-to-resume","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=17873","title":{"rendered":"Bubba Wallace hopes to build on life-changing moment by adding a 2nd Brickyard 400 win to resume"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/twt-thumbs.washtimes.com\/media\/image\/2026\/07\/25\/NASCAR_Atlanta_Auto_Racing_72677_s1440x960.jpg?f72536d07237fdd262042ae8f5e6e6de3b865f3c\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 When <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/bubba-wallace\/\">Bubba Wallace<\/a> returned to Indianapolis this week, he felt like he was retracing the steps from last year\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/brickyard-400\/\">Brickyard 400<\/a> victory. Then he pulled through one of the speedway\u2019s tunnels, right underneath a banner of his image next to the previous race winners.<\/p>\n<p>No, he\u2019s not here to relive the life-changing moment from last July.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s back to deliver another historic moment when he tries to defend the biggest win of his career Sunday on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/indianapolis-motor-speedway\/\">Indianapolis Motor Speedway\u2019s<\/a> 2.5-mile oval.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wish it was as easy as copy and paste, but it\u2019s not &#8211; clearly as I go banging off the wall on Lap 1 1\/2,\u201d Wallace said Saturday, referring to an incident during Friday\u2019s lone practice session. \u201cIt\u2019s just really cool to be here, I always enjoy Indy for whatever reason. We\u2019ve had really good finishes here in the Cup car.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Race weekend has not started well for Wallace, however.<\/p>\n<p>Though he felt fortunate when the 23XI Racing team determined his No. 23 Toyota was not seriously damaged from the light brush with the wall, qualifying didn\u2019t go much better than practice. He\u2019ll start 29th on the oval, which has traditionally rewarded the top qualifiers over those who struggle.<\/p>\n<p>But Wallace also felt snakebitten in qualifying last year when he watched Chase Briscoe beat him for the pole by 0.013 seconds.<\/p>\n<aside>\n<\/aside>\n<p>He rebounded by overcoming an 18-minute rain delay, two overtimes, worries about running out of fuel and harrowing back-to-back restarts against the hard-charging Kyle Larson in the excruciating final minutes to become the first Black driver to win a major race on Indy\u2019s oval.<\/p>\n<p>The only thing that would be better is doing it all over again.<\/p>\n<p>Since NASCAR first started racing at Indy in 1994, only three drivers have celebrated back-to-back victories &#8211; Hall of Famer and seven-time Cup champ Jimmie Johnson in 2008-09, the late <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/kyle-busch\/\">Kyle Busch<\/a> in 2015-16 and Hall of Fame selection Kevin Harvick in 2019-20.<\/p>\n<p>Wallace acknowledges the first win helped make him a better husband, a better father and a less stressed person. A second win seems almost unimaginable.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just went through the NASCAR post of every winner from \u201894, and to be on that list, it\u2019s kind of like I said last year, unbelievable,\u201d Wallace said. \u201cI\u2019m just thankful for the opportunity, thankful for the career I\u2019ve had. You never know what cards you\u2019re going to be dealt but you put on your poker face and go do the best that you can, and sometimes you end up winning.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>The million dollar question<\/h3>\n<p>Ryan Blaney might have the hottest streak going in the Cup circuit. The Team Penske driver has posted 11 consecutive top 11 finishes, won his second race of the season two weeks ago in Atlanta and is third in points entering Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>Todd Gilliland calls himself the underdog in the final round of the In-Season Challenge. The Front Row Motorsports driver has no wins, no top fives, only two top 10s and is 23rd in points this year.<\/p>\n<p>Yet somehow these two Ford drivers will go head-to-head, the top finishers collecting $1 million Sunday. Blaney has the clear edge after qualifying 13th while Gilliland will start 36th. But Gilliland thinks he can defy the odds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe beat them here last year so I don\u2019t know why we can\u2019t do it again,\u201d said Gilliland, who finished sixth at last year\u2019s Brickyard &#8211; one spot ahead of Blaney.<\/p>\n<h3>Honoring <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/kyle-busch\/\">Kyle Busch<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>Race organizers are honoring Busch in several ways this weekend. The two-time Cup champion died in May, at age 41, from complications from pneumonia.<\/p>\n<p>A banner featuring Busch\u2019s image has been displayed downtown this week, and another banner covering the seats near the start-finish line features the No. 8 and Busch\u2019s signature. Also, on Lap 8 of Sunday\u2019s race, the track\u2019s scoring pylon will have a special display for Busch, similar to what Indianapolis 500 organizers did during their May race.<\/p>\n<h3>30-year anniversary<\/h3>\n<p>Racing at Indy is built on traditions, and one of those favored moments &#8211; kissing the bricks &#8211; began when Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett did it after winning the 1996 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/brickyard-400\/\">Brickyard 400<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Today, it\u2019s one of the most memorable moments on race weekend not just for NASCAR\u2019s Cup race at Indy but any race at this track and drivers can\u2019t imagine not partaking in the tradition.<\/p>\n<p>                        <a name=\"pagebreak\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt has become a really cool thing regardless of how it got to be,\u201d said 41-year-old Justin Allgaier, who celebrated his Xfinity series win with the smooch. \u201cI think when you talk to teams, drivers, sponsors, even fans, that\u2019s such a kind of iconic moment that everyone wants to experience it because it\u2019s become something almost as big as winning the race.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"permission\" style=\"padding-top: 25px;\">\n<p>Copyright \u00a9 2026 The Washington Times, LLC.\n                        <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 When Bubba Wallace returned to Indianapolis this week, he felt like he was retracing the steps from last year\u2019s Brickyard 400 victory. Then he pulled through one of the speedway\u2019s tunnels, right underneath a banner of his image next to the previous race winners. No, he\u2019s not here to relive the life-changing moment&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17874,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/twt-thumbs.washtimes.com\/media\/image\/2026\/07\/25\/NASCAR_Atlanta_Auto_Racing_72677_c0-109-2616-1635_s1200x700.jpg?d150eb1d2da057147c426d12c7c18c9b734d14be","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17873"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17873\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}