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F1 News: ‘Up to Red Bull’ to explain Horner sacking

(GMM) The entire Formula 1 world is wondering, ‘What’s next?’ after Wednesday’s shock news of Christian Horner (pictured) being sacked. Having survived last year’s ‘sexting’ scandal, a resulting power struggle and several high-profile staff departures, Christian Horner has been suddenly sacked by Red Bull. It is believed the move came after his staunch supporter, 51 […]

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(GMM) The entire Formula 1 world is wondering, ‘What’s next?’ after Wednesday’s shock news of Christian Horner (pictured) being sacked.

Having survived last year’s ‘sexting’ scandal, a resulting power struggle and several high-profile staff departures, Christian Horner has been suddenly sacked by Red Bull.

It is believed the move came after his staunch supporter, 51 percent owner Chalerm Yoovidhya, finally caved and agreed with the Austrian side of the business that he should go.

Also fascinating is that the news broke on the very same day that Mercedes’ executive board approved a bid to try to lure Max Verstappen to the German marque for 2026 and beyond.

“A coincidence? Hardly,” the Austrian newspaper Osterreich noted.

After the checkered flag at Silverstone – another difficult race for Verstappen – Horner was seen arguing with Max’s influential father, Jos.

“You could see that Jos was anything but happy with the situation,” former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher told Sky Deutschland, admitting that his criticism of Horner left him on a “blacklist”.

Schumacher thinks Horner’s 20-year-old reign at Red Bull has simply run its course.

“In the end, it really was the case that they were no longer able to attract or retain good people,” he said. “They simply didn’t want to come because of his personality.”

Other rumors suggest Horner was poised to try once again to oust consultant Dr Helmut Marko, or block a move by the Verstappen camp to buy into the Milton-Keynes based team.

“His team most likely wants to buy shares, like Toto Wolff did at Mercedes,” former F1 driver Vitaly Petrov said on Telegram.

Bernie Ecclestone, a long-time Horner confidante, says the 51-year-old was shocked by Wednesday’s news. Dutch racing personality Tom Coronel surmised: “Something must have happened to cause a bit of panic.

“This tells me something’s wrong. There must have been a fire,” he told the Dutch publication Formule 1.

Mika Salo agrees, telling Ilta Sanomat: “I believe there is something behind the scenes that the public is not being told about.

“There is nothing else to say about this, unless you know.”

Two Horner allies – communications boss Paul Smith and head of marketing Oliver Hughes – are following Horner out of the door, and rumors already suggest the Briton could be heading to Ferrari or Alpine.

Alpine boss and Horner ally Flavio Briatore wished the Briton well for his “next adventure”.

Quadruple world champion Verstappen stayed quiet about the most recent rumblings about Horner’s future at recent races, but it is believed he had a meeting with CEO Oliver Mintzlaff just a few days ago.

Max and Jos’s manager, Raymond Vermeulen was very careful with his words on Wednesday: “It’s up to Red Bull to share the background to the decision.

Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing and Raymond Vermeulen, Manager of Max Verstappen arrive in the Paddock during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on April 18, 2025 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool //
Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing and Raymond Vermeulen, Manager of Max Verstappen arrive in the Paddock during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on April 18, 2025 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool //

“In Red Bull’s view, this is the best way forward,” he added. “It’s up to the parent company to hire people and make strategic choices.”

As for the future, Vermeulen added: “Nothing changes for us. We continue to look at the sporting side and are looking for more performance, so that we can return to the top.”

A correspondent for Sky Italia believes Verstappen was “using the Mercedes offer” to force change at Red Bull. “The Dutchman asked for a second person to work with alongside Horner.

“Now, with this move, many possibilities open up. But I believe that with Horner’s departure, Verstappen is destined to fulfill his contract until 2028.”

Red Bull Racing, including the new Red Bull-Ford engine project, will now be headed by Laurent Mekies, with Alan Permane stepping up at Racing Bulls.

“We continue to look forward to returning to the Formula 1 grid in 2026,” a Ford official declared.



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Rain Pushes PASS Spectacular At White Mountain Back Once Again, Now September 20 Showdown

Rain Pushes PASS Spectacular At White Mountain Back Once Again, Now September 20 Showdown – RaceDayCT.com We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Manage consent Copyright 2018 E-Media Sports […]

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NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis: Live updates, highlights, leaderboard

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 27 for the Brickyard 400 at the 2.5-mile track. Chase Briscoe is on the pole, leading a group of Toyotas at the top of the leaderboard. It is officially playoff picture time with five races remaining in the regular season, as Alex […]

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The NASCAR Cup Series returns to the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 27 for the Brickyard 400 at the 2.5-mile track.

Chase Briscoe is on the pole, leading a group of Toyotas at the top of the leaderboard.

It is officially playoff picture time with five races remaining in the regular season, as Alex Bowman, Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace and Ryan Preece are all near the cutline.

Can a driver outside the playoff picture, like Ty Gibbs or Brad Keselowski, upset the playoff picture with a win on Sunday?

Denny Hamlin crashed in qualifying and will start last with a backup car.

Additionally, the in-season tournament concludes with the final matchup between Gibbs and Ty Dillon. The former will start fifth, while the latter is once more the underdog as the No. 32 overall seed.

Follow along with the Tennessean’s race updates below, with the green flag set for just after 1 p.m. CT on Sunday:

Refresh for the latest live updates!

LIVE LEADERBOARD: Full field leaderboard of NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400

Recap | Results | Points standings | Winners and losers | In-season tournament final results

Chase Briscoe pits for fuel from the top 10 as the field gets the 1-to-go. Bubba Wallace will start on the inside again with Kyle Larson on his outside. Wallace is told to flip the switch for fuel reserves heading to the green flag.

Wallace clears Larson through turns 1 and 2, and he is going away from the No. 5.

Wallace takes the white flag. Larson is four car lengths behind.

Wallace defends through turns 3 and 4, and he’s going to win. Bubba Wallace, Brickyard 400 winner.

“This is why they make trophy cases: to fill them,” Wallace says on the radio.

Kyle Larson is on the outside, with Bubba Wallace on the inside. Wallace is the control car. He is told to flip the fuel switch for the reserve coming to the white flag.

Bubba Wallace clears Kyle Larson off of turn 2, but there is a multi-car crash behind them on the backstretch. Zane Smith is turned into the outside wall by Christopher Bell, and Tyler Reddick hits him. Joey Logano is also involved.

Cliff Daniels tells Kyle Larson he should be OK on fuel for another attempt. Not a lot of optimism on Bubba Wallace’s radio, but they are staying out. “Save for your life,” Wallace is told.

The red flag has been lifted, and the caution flag is back out. A green-white-checkered finish is upcoming.

Tyler Reddick pits, but the rest of the leaders stay out. Bubba Wallace was told he will have enough for one green-white-checkered attempt.

The cars are stopped down pit road, and the red flag has been displayed. The track has been lost in turn 1, but it is not raining all the way around the track.

Should be about 5:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. CT or so for a resumption.

Caution is out for rain through turn 1 and now into turn 3, per the NASCAR officials radio chatter. Bubba Wallace is told to save.

Bubba Wallace is the new leader as Ryan Blaney pits from the lead. Wallace leads Tyler Reddick by about five seconds, so it’s Wallace’s race to lose barring a caution or a fuel miscalculation in the No. 23 pits.

Joey Logano cuts his right-rear tire down, similar to teammate Austin Cindric, and is coming down pit road. He’ll be at least one lap down.

Now it’s only Ryan Blaney and Katherine Legge who need to pit ahead of Bubba Wallace. It could be a 23XI Racing battle to the win, barring a Blaney fuel mileage gamble (miracle?) in the final laps.

Joey Logano leads among those who have pitted so far, and he should inherit the lead once the cycle completes ahead of Bubba Wallace. Logano short-pitted with two tires and fuel. Kyle Larson is fourth among those that have pitted.

Kyle Larson controls the top spot after Ryan Blaney pits during the stage break, just ahead of Denny Hamlin. More stops are coming soon.

Ryan Blaney gets the playoff point via a win in Stage 2.

The top 10:

  1. Ryan Blaney
  2. Kyle Larson
  3. Denny Hamlin
  4. William Byron
  5. Brad Keselowski
  6. Alex Bowman
  7. Carson Hocevar
  8. Joey Logano
  9. Chris Buescher
  10. Bubba Wallace

Ryan Blaney gets the jump, with Kyle Larson rooting and gauging to get to second. Brad Keselowski slips back to fifth.

Ryan Blaney, who has not pitted since the Stage 1 break, stayed out and will be the leader at the restart. Brad Keselowski, William Byron, Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson make up the rest of the top five. Chase Elliott, in 12th, was the final car that was on the lead lap and had pitted under green earlier in the stage. The next 11 cars pitted under caution just now, with 23 cars on the lead lap.

Chase Briscoe and a host of others pitted and will restart outside the top 10. Their issue, from a track position standpoint, is a lot of the drivers ahead of them should not have to pit during the end of Stage 2. Those who pitted at around Lap 93 will have less fuel to put in the car, but that’s only so much track position given that those stops will happen 15 or so laps into a run in Stage 3. That being said, cautions change everything.

Erik Jones, who had a fast race car, loses a wheel and pounds the wall in the corner after just pitting. Caution is out.

That is a wild sight, no matter how many times it happens.

Austin Cindric’s chances to win may now be over. Cindric cuts down a right-rear tire from the lead down the frontstretch and slowly makes his way around back to pit road. He is a lap down now, and that’ll be a tough one to take for the No. 2 Team Penske group.

Cole Custer has a tire come apart in turns 3 and 4, and leader William Byron dives down pit road to benefit from a potential caution. No caution, but Byron should only need one more stop today.

The trio that stayed out during the Stage 1 end have pitted, with Ryan Preece and Justin Haley falling a lap down. Preece had a slow stop with the jack falling off on the left side.

Austin Cindric leads William Byron, Carson Hocevar, Bubba Wallace and Joey Logano.

Austin Dillon needs a new radiator after the restart stack up, and he’s behind the wall. Cody Ware also drives to the garage area.

William Byron, with four fresh tires, drives into the top five. Chase Briscoe has slipped back to 13th. Tyler Reddick is about to 16th with damage from the stacked-up restart.

Denny Hamlin is up to 14th, while Chase Elliott is 18th. They are steadily moving up as halfway approaches.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. gets turned as the field gets stacked up on the outside on the restart, and he has significant damage. No caution, but Stenhouse is going behind the wall.

Ryan Preece leads Alex Bowman and Justin Haley, with none of the others penetrating the top three who stayed out. Welcome to the Brickyard 400, where car quality and tire wear matters less than fuel strategy and clean air.

Alex Bowman and Ryan Preece are among a few drivers who stay out along with the Fords and Erik Jones. Carson Hocevar takes two tires while the leaders almost all take four tires.

Noah Gragson is going to the garage after complaining about an issue with his race car.

Chase Briscoe wins Stage 1, and if you like fuel strategy and last lap pit numbers, this is the race for you.

The top 10:

  1. Chase Briscoe
  2. Bubba Wallace
  3. William Byron
  4. Tyler Reddick
  5. Chris Buescher
  6. Kyle Busch
  7. Carson Hocevar
  8. Kyle Larson
  9. Austin Dillon
  10. AJ Allmendinger

Erik Jones pits ahead of the stage end from fourth, and he comes out just ahead of Chase Briscoe to remain on the lead lap. So Jones joins the Fords on that strategy.

Joey Logano pits first, with Austin Cindric pitting on the next lap. Josh Berry is coming on the next lap, and all stops were clean.

Chase Briscoe regains the lead.

Austin Cindric continues to lead, but he, Joey Logano and Josh Berry will need to pit just before the end of the stage. Berry, by the way, passed Bubba Wallace for fourth with a 20-lap difference in tires. Logano is told that by his team and is told that tire wear means little today.

Austin Cindric had the preferred inside line and bests Joey Logano through turns 1 and 2. Josh Berry gets split by Chase Briscoe and Bubba Wallace. Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell nearly crash on the straightaway with the darting and blocking.

Austin Cindric, Joey Logano and Josh Berry stayed out during the caution, and they will be ahead of previous leader Chase Briscoe.

Track position is going to matter so much today. Surprised more did not stay out. With that caution timing, one can short pit the stage end and be on a reasonable strategy.

Ross Chastain crashes in turn 3, with heavy damage all around his No. 1 Chevrolet. Caution is out. Chastain blocked the entry of Michael McDowell into the corner while racing in 34th, and McDowell made contact with Chastain in the rear.

Chastain does drive away, but visible suspension damage apparent. McDowell’s team is concerned about the No. 71’a splitter.

Not much happening in the first 15 laps or so once the field got strung out, with most discussion on radios up front about taking care of equipment and maximizing fuel mileage.

Tyler Reddick passes teammate Bubba Wallace for second, and Reddick is the fastest among the top five right now.

Chase Briscoe goes, and not everyone else does behind him on the inside. Not a good jump for Erik Jones.

Briscoe leads an orderly start, with Bubba Wallace in second. We’ll keep tabs on Denny Hamlin (39th) and Chase Elliott (30th) as they come from the back of the field.

The 39-car field is moving along the 2.5-mile track for pace laps. Green flag upcoming.

Among those starting at the rear today:

  • Denny Hamlin (backup car)
  • Michael McDowell (unapproved adjustments)
  • John Hunter Nemechek (unapproved adjustments)
  • Zane Smith (unapproved adjustments)
  • Jesse Love (unapproved adjustments)

Chase Briscoe will lead four other Toyotas at the front to the green flag on Sunday.

The top 10:

  1. Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
  2. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
  3. Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
  4. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
  5. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
  6. William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
  7. Chris Buescher, No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
  8. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
  9. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
  10. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford

Find the full starting lineup here.

The Brickyard 400 will be aired on the radio by the IMS Radio Network. IMS Radio has affiliates all across the country, and their feed can also be streamed on NASCAR.com as well as the NASCAR app. The race can also be heard on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

  • Green Flag Time:  Approx. 1:15 p.m. CT on Sunday, July 27
  • Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5-mile rectangular oval) in Speedway, Indiana
  • Length:  160 laps, 400 miles
  • Stages:  50 laps, 50 laps, 60 laps
  • TV coverage: TNT
  • Radio:  IMS Radio
  • Streaming: Watch FREE on Fubo;; MAX app for in-car cameras (subscription required); NASCAR.com and SiriusXM on Channel 90 for audio (subscription required)

The Brickyard 400 will be broadcast nationally on TNT. Other streaming options for the race include MAX for in-car cameras for each driver.

  • 2024: Kyle Larson
  • 2020: Kevin Harvick
  • 2019: Kevin Harvick
  • 2018: Brad Keselowski



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NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis

Larson finished second, followed by Denny Hamlin, Ryan Preece and Brad Keselowski. The next stop for the NASCAR Cup Series is Iowa Speedway for the Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol. Coverage of the event on Sunday, August 3 will be on USA, the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio at 3:30 p.m. ET. […]

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Larson finished second, followed by Denny Hamlin, Ryan Preece and Brad Keselowski.

The next stop for the NASCAR Cup Series is Iowa Speedway for the Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol. Coverage of the event on Sunday, August 3 will be on USA, the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio at 3:30 p.m. ET.

-Photo credit: Lesley Ann Miller, Lumen Digital Agency for Toyota Gazoo Racing



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Bubba Wallace makes Indy history with Brickyard 400 victory

INDIANAPOLIS — Bubba Wallace climbed out of the No. 23 Chevolet, pumped his fists, found his family and savored every precious moment of a historic Brickyard 400 victory. He deserved every minute of it. The 31-year-old NASCAR Cup Series driver for 23XI Racing overcame a tenuous 18-minute rain delay, two tantalizing overtimes, fears about running […]

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INDIANAPOLIS — Bubba Wallace climbed out of the No. 23 Chevolet, pumped his fists, found his family and savored every precious moment of a historic Brickyard 400 victory.

He deserved every minute of it.

The 31-year-old NASCAR Cup Series driver for 23XI Racing overcame a tenuous 18-minute rain delay, two tantalizing overtimes, fears about running out of fuel late and the hard-charging Kyle Larson — the winner of the 2024 race — on back-to-back restarts Sunday to become the first Black driver to win a major race on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5-mile oval. There has never been a Black winner of the open-wheel Indianapolis 500, which dates to 1911, and Formula 1 used the road course at IMS when the international open-wheel series held its U.S. Grand Prix there from 2000 to 2007.

The Cup Series raced on the IMS oval from 1994 to 2020, switched to the road course for the next three years, then returned to the oval a year ago, when Larson drove the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevy to victory lane as Wallace finished fifth. Until Sunday, the best Brickyard 400 result for Wallace was fifth place in 2019, when he was at the wheel of the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Chevy.

“This one’s really cool,” Wallace said. “Coming off Turn 4, I knew I was going to get there — unless we ran out of gas. I was surprised I wasn’t crying like a little baby.”

His third career Cup Series victory was his first in of stock-car racing’s four crown jewel events, with the others the Coca-Cola 600, the Daytona 500 and the Southern 500. It also snapped a 100-race winless streak that dated to his September 2022 victory at Kansas Speedway and locked up a spot in the 16-driver field for the postseason, which begins next month. His only other win came in October 2021 at Alabama’s Talladega Superspeedway, a playoff race that was postponed and shortened due to rain.

The final gap Sunday was less than a a quarter-second (0.222), but even that was no measure of the consternation he faced.

Larson cut a deficit of 5.057 seconds with 14 laps to go to about three seconds with six laps left as the yellow flag came out for the rain. The cars then rolled to a stop on pit lane with four laps remaining, forcing Wallace to think and rethink his restart strategy.

“‘Are we going? Are we not?'” he said. “I will say I leaned more towards ‘I know we’re going to go back racing. Be ready. Don’t get complacent here.'”

Wallace made sure of it. He beat Larson through the second turn on the first restart only to have a crash behind him trigger a second overtime, forcing his crew to recalculate whether they had enough fuel to finish the race or whether he needed to surrender the lead and refuel.

In Wallace’s mind, there was no choice.

“The first thing that went through my mind was, ‘Here we go again,'” he said. “But then I said, ‘I want to win this straight up. I want to go back racing.’ Here we are.”

He beat Larson off the restart again and pulled away, preventing the 2021 Cup Series champion from becoming the race’s fourth back-to-back winner.

The victory also alleviated the frustration Wallace felt Saturday, when he spent most of the qualifying session on the provisional pole only to see Chase Briscoe earn the No. 1 starting spot with one of the last runs in the session.

On Sunday, he made sure there was no repeat.

“Those last 20 laps there were ups and downs, and I was telling myself, ‘You won’t be able to do it,'” Wallace said. “Once I’d seen it was Larson, I knew he won here last year, and he’s arguably the best in the field. So to beat the best, we had to be the best today.”

The other big contest — the final showdown of the In-Season Challenge — went to Ty Gibbs, who had a better car than fellow finalist Ty Dillon in qualifying and on race day. Gibbs finished 21st in his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54 Toyota to win the inaugural single-elimination, in-season tournament and collect the $1 million prize.

Dillon, a surprise qualifier for the championship round after making the field as the 32nd and final driver, finished 28th on the track Sunday in the Kaulig Racing No. 10 Chevy.

“They brought me money guns and they jammed, so I decided to take all the money and throw it to the fans, and they were all wrestling and fighting over it,” said Gibbs, who also received a title belt and a ring. “But it’s super cool. It’s a cool opportunity.”

Wallace and Larson were followed by JGR’s Denny Hamlin — who also co-owns 23XI Racing — the winner a week earlier at Delaware’s Motor Speedway for his fourth victory of the season and the 58th of his Cup Series career. Ryan Preece had the best finish for a Ford driver in fourth, and he was followed by RFK Racing teammate Brad Keselowski, who is also a co-owner of the team.

At different points, Penske teammates Austin Cindric and three-time Cup Series champion Joey Logano appeared to be in control of the race, but tire problems took them out of contention. Eric Jones also was knocked out of the race when his right front tire came off between the third and fourth turns, sending him hard into the outside wall on the 91st lap.

They weren’t the only drivers who made early exits.

Ross Chastain was the first out after just 18 laps when a tap from Michael McDowell sent his car spinning into the third turn wall and caused heavy damage. The others who were out before the 100th lap were Austin Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Cody Ware.

AP photo by Darron Cummings / Bubba Wallace drives the 23XI Racing No. 23 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series' Brickyard 400 on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
AP photo by Darron Cummings / Bubba Wallace drives the 23XI Racing No. 23 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series’ Brickyard 400 on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

IndyCar: Palou closes in on another title

Alex Palou won IndyCar’s Grand Prix of Monterey on Sunday at California’s WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, the Chip Ganassi Racing star’s eighth victory through 14 races this season on the American open-wheel circuit.

Palou, a 28-year-old Spaniard seeking his fourth IndyCar title in five seasons, is almost there. With three races to go, he has a 121-point lead over second-place Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren, who had won the previous two races but wound up fourth Sunday.

Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard was second to Palou on the track Sunday, with Andretti Global’s Colton Herta third.

Palou led all but 11 laps to repeat as the Monterey winner, and he has a chance to break IndyCar’s record for single-season wins if he can sweep the remainder of the schedule, with the final three races Aug. 10 in Portland, Oregon, Aug. 24 in Milwaukee and Aug. 31 in Nashville.



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Bubba Wallace becomes first Black driver to win a major race at Indianapolis’ oval with Brickyard 400 victory

INDIANAPOLIS — Bubba Wallace climbed out of the No. 23 car Sunday, pumped his fists, found his family and savored every precious moment of a historic Brickyard 400 victory. He deserved every minute of it. The 31-year-old Wallace overcame a tenuous 18-minute rain delay, two tantalizing overtimes, fears about running out of fuel late and […]

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INDIANAPOLIS — Bubba Wallace climbed out of the No. 23 car Sunday, pumped his fists, found his family and savored every precious moment of a historic Brickyard 400 victory.

He deserved every minute of it.

The 31-year-old Wallace overcame a tenuous 18-minute rain delay, two tantalizing overtimes, fears about running out of fuel late and the hard-charging defending race champ, Kyle Larson, on back-to-back restarts to become the first Black driver to win a major race on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5-mile oval. No Black driver has won the Indianapolis 500, and Formula 1 raced on the track’s road course.

“This one’s really cool,” Wallace said. “Coming off Turn 4, I knew I was going to get there — unless we ran out of gas. I was surprised I wasn’t crying like a little baby.”

His third career NASCAR Cup victory delivered Wallace’s first victory in the series’ four crown jewel events, the others being the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500. It also snapped a 100-race winless streak that dated to 2022 at Kansas and locked up a playoff spot. His only other win came at Talladega in 2021.

The final gap was 0.222 seconds, but that was no measure of the consternation he faced.

Larson cut a 5.057-second deficit with 14 laps to go to about three seconds with six laps left as the yellow flag came out for the rain. The cars then rolled to a stop on pit lane with four laps remaining, forcing Wallace to think and rethink his restart strategy.

“The whole time I’m thinking are we going? Are we not?” he said. “I will say I leaned more towards ‘I know we’re going to go back racing. Be ready. Don’t get complacent here.”

Wallace made sure of it.

He beat Larson through the second turn on the first restart only to have a crash behind him force a second overtime, forcing his crew to recalculate whether they had enough fuel to finish the race or whether he needed to surrender the lead and refuel.

In Wallace’s mind, there was no choice.

“The first thing that went through my mind was, ‘Here we go again,’” he said. “But then I said, `I want to win this straight up. I want to go back racing.’ Here we are.”

He beat Larson off the restart again and pulled away, preventing Larson from becoming the race’s fourth back-to-back winner.

The victory also alleviated the frustration Wallace felt Saturday when he spent most of the qualifying session on the provisional pole only to see Chase Briscoe claim the No. 1 starting spot with one of the last runs in the session.

On Sunday, he made sure there was no repeat, providing an added boost to the 23XI Racing team co-owned by basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan and last week’s race winner, Denny Hamlin, as it continues to battle NASCAR in court over its charter status.

“Those last 20 laps there were ups and downs and I was telling myself ‘You won’t be able to do it,’” Wallace said. “Once I’d seen it was Larson, I knew he won here last year and he’s arguably the best in the field. So to beat the best, we had to be the best today.”

The other big race — the In-Season Challenge — went to Ty Gibbs, who had a better car than Ty Dillon in qualifying and on race day. Gibbs finished 21st o win the inaugural March Madness-like single-elimination tournament and collect the $1 million prize.

Dillon, a surprise championship round entrant after making the field as the 32nd and final driver, finished 28th.

“They brought me money guns and they jammed so I decided to take all the money and throwing it to the fans and they were all wrestling and fighting over it,” said Gibbs, who also received a title belt and a ring. “But it’s super cool. It’s a cool opportunity.”

Tire troubles

At different points, Austin Cindric and three-time Cup champion Joey Logano appeared to be in control of the race, but tire problems took them out of contention. Eric Jones also was knocked out of the race when his right front tire came off between Turns 3 and 4, sending him hard into the outside wall on Lap 91.

They weren’t the only drivers who made early exits.

Ross Chastain was the first out after just 18 laps when a tap from Michael McDowell sent Chastain’s car spinning into the third turn wall and caused heavy damage.

The others who were out before Lap 100 were Austin Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Cody Ware.

Weathering the storm

Series officials were concerned enough about the threat of rain that they moved up the start time by 10 minutes. Fifteen minutes probably would have eliminated the rain delay.

But the threat of rain impacted the race long before the delay. Early in the second stage, some teams informed drivers rain was expected near the midway point and it seemed to increase the aggressiveness earlier in the race than expected.

Monster advice

Cookie Monster made it to the track Sunday, too. The beloved Sesame Street character, who served as the Brickyard’s grand marshal, attended driver introductions and took a handful of questions before the race and even offered some advice to the drivers.

“Don’t stop and ask for directions,” the furry blue character said.

Up next

Cup drivers will continue their brief Midwestern tour next Sunday when they race at Iowa.



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New Jersey Motorsports Park announces 10-year plan

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