Motorsports
Rajah Caruth to return to NASCAR Xfinity Series at Dover
DOVER, Del. — Rajah Caruth will return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series in a Jordan Anderson Racing car July 19 at Dover Motor Speedway. Caruth will wheel the No. 32 Events DC Chevrolet Camaro at Dover. It will be his first Xfinity Series start since finishing 14th with Hendrick Motorsports in the 2023 season finale […]

DOVER, Del. — Rajah Caruth will return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series in a Jordan Anderson Racing car July 19 at Dover Motor Speedway.
Caruth will wheel the No. 32 Events DC Chevrolet Camaro at Dover. It will be his first Xfinity Series start since finishing 14th with Hendrick Motorsports in the 2023 season finale at Phoenix Raceway.

“This weekend marks a special moment for our team as rising star Rajah Caruth joins us in the No. 32 Chevrolet at Dover with the support of Events DC. Rajah’s proven talent and hometown pride make this a powerful opportunity to showcase what we can achieve together on one of NASCAR’s toughest tracks – the Monster Mile,” Jordan Anderson Racing stated on social media.
Since his most recent Xfinity start, Caruth has been racing full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Spire Motorsports with full backing from HendrickCars.com. Three races into his first season with Spire, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March 2024, Caruth earned his first career win and locked himself into the playoffs. Then, in May 2025, Caruth earned his second playoff berth with a fierce win at Nashville Superspeedway.


Caruth has 18 other Xfinity starts under his belt, all with Alpha Prime Racing. He raced for them seven times in 2022 and 11 times in 2023 and earned his career-best finish – 12th – two years in a row in the fall Martinsville race. In all, he has seven top-20 finishes with Alpha Prime, mostly at driver-focused tracks like Martinsville, Phoenix, Darlington, Bristol and the Charlotte Roval.
Meanwhile, Jake Finch will step into his old Xfinity ride – the No. 17 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports – for his series debut.
MORE: Jake Finch to make NASCAR Xfinity debut with Hendrick Motorsports
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick’s final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen’s stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers’ stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com
Motorsports
Winners and losers from NASCAR’s dramatic weekend at Indianapolis
NASCAR’s annual visit to the hallowed grounds of IMS did not disappoint. On Saturday, JR Motorsports earned a very special victory, despite Justin Allgaier’s heartbreaking loss, and Austin Hill is likely going to face the wrath of NASCAR officials for some reckless driving. On Sunday, strategy was the name of the game in the Brickyard […]

NASCAR’s annual visit to the hallowed grounds of IMS did not disappoint. On Saturday, JR Motorsports earned a very special victory, despite Justin Allgaier’s heartbreaking loss, and Austin Hill is likely going to face the wrath of NASCAR officials for some reckless driving.
On Sunday, strategy was the name of the game in the Brickyard 400, but it still came down to double overtime as Bubba Wallace defeated Kyle Larson and claimed the biggest victory of his NASCAR career. He is now locked into the playoffs, and nearly everyone in the garage seemed excited about it. Ty Gibbs also won the $1 million in-season challenge, defeating Ty Dillon in the finals.
As NASCAR moves on from Indianapolis, here’s a look at the biggest winners and losers from the Brickyard…
WINNER: Bubba Wallace for silencing the doubters
Watch: Bubba Wallace overcome with emotion after Brickyard 400 victory
Even after qualifying on the front row, few were looking at Wallace as a true threat for the win. And yet, his team played the strategy perfectly to put him in a position to win one of NASCAR’s crown jewel events. He had to fight for it as well with the race ending in double overtime and defending Brickyard 400 winner Kyle Larson right next to him. But Wallace held on, snapping a 100-race winless streak and taking the now-charterless 23XI Racing team to Victory Lane for the first time this year.
LOSER: Penske for losing out on Brickyard glory due to tire issues

Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford
Photo by: James Gilbert / Getty Images
Penske hasn’t had great luck at IMS this year, in both IndyCar and NASCAR. They looked strong on Sunday, but Austin Cindric fell out of contention after cutting a tire while leading the race. Later on, Joey Logano was in control and looked like he was about to win before the same right-rear tire issue derailed his day. It was a disappointing ending for Penske at the track he owns, but one that could have likely been avoided with some less-aggressive air pressures.
WINNER: RFK for securing a double top five out of nowhere

Ryan Preece, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
Photo by: Justin Casterline / Getty Images
In the chaos of the finish, one team that made the most of it was RFK Racing. Both Ryan Preece and Brad Keselowski appeared near the front at the very end, and Chris Buescher was right with them before a mistake on the final restart. It’s the first time RFK has gotten two cars inside the top five in the same race this year, and with Wallace’s victory, it’s now a points battle between RFK teammates for the final spot inside the playoffs.
LOSER: Legacy Motor Club for a promising weekend that fell apart

Erik Jones, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Toyota
Photo by: Jonathan Bachman – Getty Images
Legacy Motor Club brought impressive speed to IMS, topping the charts in practice and qualifying on the second row. However, the execution wasn’t there for LMC. After John Hunter Nemechek contacted the wall while on a pole-contending lap, he had to fight his way from the rear of the field and ultimately finished 12th. Erik Jones did start up front, but a crash due to a loose wheel ended his day early.
WINNER: Katherine Legge for outperforming her equipment (again)

Katherine Legge, Chevrolet
Photo by: James Gilbert / Getty Images
Despite a rocky start to her NASCAR career, Legge has shown incredible improvement, and is now outperforming her equipment. The IndyCar and IMSA veteran now has two top 20 finishes in the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet, including a career-best finish of 17th in the Brickyard 400. That is now the team’s best ever finish on a non-drafting track.
LOSER: Ross Chastain for continuing his summer slump

Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Photo by: Justin Casterline / Getty Images
Since winning the Coke 600 in an incredible last-to-first drive, Chastain’s summer has been far from pleasant. In the past five races, he has had three DNFs due to crashes, including the last two races. He has fallen outside the top ten in points, and the latest incident is perhaps the most annoying for the No. 1 team. Chastain qualified 33rd and while saving fuel in the mid-30s, he got hit from behind just 17 laps in the race. Chastain slammed the wall, ending his day and leaving IMS with just one point. With the playoffs rapidly approaching, Trackhouse needs to get the ship righted and fast.
WINNER: Dale Jr. for getting a milestone win as a team owner

Connor Zilisch, JR Motorsports Chevrolet, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Photo by: James Gilbert / Getty Images
Looking to the Xfinity Series, it was a bittersweet outcome for JR Motorsports. Justin Allgaier, who is responsible for 25 of the team’s wins, was looking strong to get the team’s 100th victory. Unfortunately, contact from Kyle Larson robbed him of that chance, but the young phenom Connor Zilisch jumped in to pick up the torch. At just 19 years old, he went on to collect the checkered flag for JRM in his third consecutive win this year.
LOSER: Austin Hill for letting things spiral out of control
This is a story that dominated the weekend at Indianapolis before Wallace’s stunning victory in the Brickyard 400. Austin Hill got moved out of the way in the battle for fourth during Saturday’s Xfinity race. He pulled off an impressive save, but he then appeared to abruptly turn to the left, intentionally wrecking Aric Almirola head-on into the outside wall. It was a dangerous move that resulted in a five-lap penalty for Hill. To make matters worse, he started hurling expletives at NASCAR officials over the radio while denying any wrongdoing. The incident could result in a suspension for the RCR driver, who once claimed he could be a role model for the younger drivers coming up through the ranks.
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Motorsports
2025 NASCAR Playoffs Standings and Picture After Indy’s Brickyard 400
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Bubba Wallace’s win in Indy has locked him into the playoffs, making the NASCAR playoff picture just a little more clear with only four regular-season races remaining. Check out the full NASCAR Cup Playoff Standings after this weekend’s Brickyard 400. NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Standings Denny Hamlin […]

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Bubba Wallace’s win in Indy has locked him into the playoffs, making the NASCAR playoff picture just a little more clear with only four regular-season races remaining. Check out the full NASCAR Cup Playoff Standings after this weekend’s Brickyard 400.
NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Standings
- Denny Hamlin (4 Wins)*
- Kyle Larson (3 Wins)*
- Christopher Bell (3 Wins)*
- Shane van Gisbergen (3 Wins)*
- Chase Elliott (Win)
- William Byron (Win)
- Ryan Blaney (Win)
- Chase Briscoe (Win)
- Bubba Wallace (Win)
- Joey Logano (Win)
- Ross Chastain (Win)
- Austin Cindric (Win)
- Josh Berry (Win)
- Tyler Reddick (+138)
- Alex Bowman (+63)
- Chris Buescher (+42)
The top 16 drivers make the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Here are the rest of the drivers on the outside looking in:
* Have clinched a spot in the NASCAR Playoffs
How do the NASCAR Playoffs work?
16 drivers advance to the NASCAR Playoffs. A win guarantees a spot in the playoffs unless there are more winners than spots available. The 16 spots go to the regular-season champion and then 15 drivers based on wins with tiebreakers by points.
Right now, there have been 13 winners and the regular-season champion will most likely be a driver who has won a race. So unless there are four new winners (or three new winners and winless Tyler Reddick makes up a 71-point deficit to win the regular-season title), everyone with a win will get in.
Motorsports
Winners, losers from Brickyard 400 won by Bubba Wallace
INDIANAPOLIS — A look at the winners and losers from Sunday’s Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. WINNERS Bubba Wallace — Snaps 100-race winless streak by scoring his third career Cup victory and first crown jewel win. He does it by holding off Kyle Larson on two overtime restarts to kiss the bricks. This also […]

INDIANAPOLIS — A look at the winners and losers from Sunday’s Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
WINNERS
Bubba Wallace — Snaps 100-race winless streak by scoring his third career Cup victory and first crown jewel win. He does it by holding off Kyle Larson on two overtime restarts to kiss the bricks. This also is his first career Cup victory in the regular season and puts him in the playoffs.
Bubba Wallace’s trip to victory lane at Indianapolis was more than a 400-mile trip, it was a journey of years.
23XI Racing — Two weeks after losing its charter status in its legal dispute with NASCAR, 23XI Racing scores its first victory of the season. Tyler Reddick is 138 points above the cutline with four races to go. While he has yet to secure a playoff spot, he’s in good position to make it and give 23XI Racing two cars racing for a championship.
He holds off Kyle Larson for win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Kyle Larson — Runner-up finish gives him back-to-back top-five results for the first time in the last 10 races.
Cup drivers recap Indianapolis race won by Wallace
Hear from Kyle Larson, Ryan Preece, Alex Bowman, Ty Gibbs, Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace following the NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis.
Denny Hamlin — Goes from last to third in a backup car after crashing his primary car in qualifying Saturday and sees his 23XI Racing team win its first race of the year.
Ryan Preece — His fourth-place finish gives him two top-five results for the year, the most in his career. He entered the race with a 27.3 average finish at Indy, his worst among active tracks.
Brad Keselowski — His fifth-place finish gives him six top 10s in the last 10 races after he did not have a top-10 finish in the first 12 races of the season.
Todd Gilliland — Came back from a lap down to finish sixth at Indy for the second year in a row. Gilliland also snapped a streak of eight consecutive finishes of 22nd or worse this season.
LOSERS
William Byron — Lost a top-five finish when he ran out of fuel on the final lap. He also ran out of fuel and had to pit just before the finish at Michigan in June, giving up a runner-up result there.
Ross Chastain — Finished last after an accident. It’s his third DNF in the last five races.
Erik Jones — Finished 36th due to an accident after his right front tire was not tightened. It’s his fourth consecutive finish of 25th or worse.
Motorsports
All About Bubba Wallace’s Wife, Amanda Wallace
NEED TO KNOW Bubba Wallace and Amanda Wallace got married in 2022 Amanda is a former financial analyst and an artist They welcomed their first child, son Becks Hayden, in September 2024 Bubba Wallace and his wife, Amanda Wallace, have a lot to celebrate. On July 27, the NASCAR driver won the Brickyard 400, making […]

NEED TO KNOW
- Bubba Wallace and Amanda Wallace got married in 2022
- Amanda is a former financial analyst and an artist
- They welcomed their first child, son Becks Hayden, in September 2024
Bubba Wallace and his wife, Amanda Wallace, have a lot to celebrate.
On July 27, the NASCAR driver won the Brickyard 400, making him the first Black driver to win a major race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5 mile oval, per the Associated Press. In a video shared by NASCAR on Fox on X, Bubba can be seen kissing his wife after his win.
The victory came nearly a year after the couple welcomed their first child, son Becks Hayden, in September 2024.
Bubba and Amanda’s relationship goes back to high school before he became a professional NASCAR driver. Though they didn’t date at the time, the two stayed in touch after graduating and reconnected properly several years later.
They began dating in 2016, got engaged in 2021 and wed on New Year’s Eve the following year.
“It’s special,” Amanda told PEOPLE of the couple’s history in January 2023. “We still reminisce or talk about things from the past. We just know so much about each other’s lives from so long ago.”
So, who is Bubba Wallace’s wife? Here’s everything to know about Amanda Wallace.
She went to high school with Bubba
Amanda Carter Instagram
Bubba and Amanda first met in high school, when he was a sophomore and she was a freshman.
“She thought I was nice, but not attractive,” Bubba told PEOPLE. “I just remember seeing her and I was like, ‘Wow, she’s beautiful.’ ”
Amanda recalled: “We were in Spanish class in high school, and we sat near each other. I don’t remember first meeting, but he would always try to cheat. We were friends. There was three or four of us that did all of our projects together and he always would try to cheat off my exams because I was much smarter than he was!”
Still, they didn’t date while in school. “It never worked out. It never hit or landed in high school,” he recalled. “I even went to his prom with somebody else from his school.”
She reconnected with Bubba in 2015
Amanda Carter Instagram
Bubba and Amanda stayed in touch after high school and talked occasionally before they reconnected properly at a college football game in 2015. The duo began to spend more time together, and Bubba soon invited Amanda to a race in Las Vegas while she was a senior in college.
“It was my senior year spring break. And I didn’t have plans at the time. And he was like, ‘Well, I’ll be out in Vegas while you’re on spring break, do you want to come?’ And I said, ‘No,’ ” Amanda told PEOPLE.
“And then he asked a few times again, and I eventually said yes,” she added. “I was like, well, I have to get to know him more if we’re going to be on vacation for a week together. And we started dating when we got out to Vegas, because we had been talking so much. We had really started to really like each other.”
Bubba proposed to Amanda in June 2021
Amanda Carter Instagram
In June 2021, Bubba proposed to Amanda in front of a waterfall in Oregon. He announced the news on X, writing: “Why I waited so long..we will never know. The wait is over!! Here’s to forever! Forever ever!”
He also shared a series of four images, including one where he’s down on one knee and another of Amanda showing off her engagement ring.
She married Bubba in December 2022
Anastasiia Photography
Bubba and Amanda got married in Charlotte, N.C., on New Year’s Eve 2022 in front of 250 guests. Bubba wore a custom suit by Stitched by Mitch, while Amanda donned a gown by Madam Burcu.
After exchanging handwritten vows in front of their guests, they had a cocktail hour with an open bar and four tapas-style bars rather than a formal dinner. They rang in 2023 with a champagne toast and arranged for a McDonald’s food truck to serve chicken nuggets and French fries at 1 a.m.
“Getting married, and starting a new life together, I’m just so excited to have a good one in my corner,” said Bubba to PEOPLE. “We have so much fun together.”
She and Bubba share a son
bubba wallace/instagram
Amanda gave birth to the couple’s first child on Sept. 29, 2024.
“Amanda and I would like to introduce you to Becks Hayden!” Bubba wrote on Instagram alongside photos of their baby boy.
The couple announced they were expecting in April 2024 with a cute poem on Instagram that said: “Spring has sprung. Summer will be rad. Fall is the first time, we’ll be mom and dad!”
Becks was there to see his dad win the Brickyard 400. After the race, Bubba shared a series of black-and-white photos on Instagram, which showed the driver, Amanda and their son laying down on the racetrack.
“This is everything,” he wrote.
She’s an artist and a former financial analyst
Amanda Carter Instagram
In 2016, Amanda graduated with a bachelor’s degree in finance and banking from Appalachian State University. According to USA Network, she then worked as a financial analyst at the Bank of America.
She reportedly left the company in April 2022 and now focuses on her art, often sharing her work on Instagram.
She shares a puppy with Bubba
Bubba Wallace/Twitter
In July 2020, Bubba and Amanda adopted an Australian shepherd-poodle puppy. Bubba announced the new addition on X, writing, “Let me tell ya bout my best friend. Asher meet the world.”
He also shared a photo of the couple holding Asher, who was wearing a puppy-sized red bandana.
“We’ve just been really enjoying Asher,” Bubba told PEOPLE in March 2021. “He’s been a really good dog, like an extremely good dog. He makes it really hard to leave during the day. But he’s a blast and we’ve just been really enjoying our time together with him.”
She supports her husband’s career on social media
Amanda Carter Instagram
Amanda frequently posts about Bubba’s victories on social media. In October 2021, Bubba became the first Black race car driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race since Wendell Scott in 1963.
Amanda posted a photo of the pair with the caption, “So proud of @bubbawallace !!!!!! You did it, CUP WINNER!!!!!!!!!!!!”
In February 2023, she posted an Instagram photo of her kissing Bubba at the Daytona International Speedway.
“We were in position for a top 5 last last and barely got caught in the last wreck!” she wrote. “So excited to see what this team is gonna do this year!”
Motorsports
NASCAR at Iowa 2025: Odds and more info
NASCAR returns to Iowa Speedway for Cup Series and Xfinity Series action this weekend. Photo: Josiah Kopp/TRE The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series returns on Friday, August 8 at Watkins Glen International. NASCAR Cup Series’ Iowa Corn 350 Sunday, August 3 3:30 p.m. (All times Eastern) 160 laps Stages end on laps 70, 210, 350 USA […]

NASCAR returns to Iowa Speedway for Cup Series and Xfinity Series action this weekend.

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series returns on Friday, August 8 at Watkins Glen International.
NASCAR Cup Series’ Iowa Corn 350
- Sunday, August 3
- 3:30 p.m. (All times Eastern)
- 160 laps
- Stages end on laps 70, 210, 350
- USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90
- Last year’s winner: Ryan Blaney

The entry list features 37 drivers, with Joey Gase racing the No. 66 Ford entry for Garage 66.
Odds for NASCAR Cup Series at Iowa 2025
Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson the odds-on co-favorites prior to any on-track activity, per Caesar’s Sportsbook. Below are the opening odds for all drivers as of Monday, July 28.
- Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson +450
- Ryan Blaney +500
- Denny Hamlin +650
- William Byron +1000
- Chase Elliott, Joey Logano +1200
- Tyler Reddick +1400
- Chase Briscoe +1600
- Josh Berry +2000
- Chris Buescher +2200
- Ross Chastain, Carson Hocevar +2800
- Kyle Busch +3000
- Brad Keselowski +3300
- Ty Gibbs +3500
- Alex Bowman +4000
- Bubba Wallace +4500
- Austin Cindric +5500
- Ryan Preece, Daniel Suarez +7500
- Josh Berry +5000
- Austin Dillon, Noah Gragson, Erik Jones +15000
- John Hunter Nemechek +20000
- Todd Gilliland, Michael McDowell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., +25000
- Zane Smith +30000
- Justin Haley +35000
- A.J. Allmendinger, Cole Custer, Shane Van Gisbergen +50000
- Riley Herbst+75000
- Ty Dillon +100000
- Cody Ware +150000
- Joey Gase +250000
NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Hy-Vee Perks 250 at Iowa
- Saturday, August 2
- 250 laps
- Stages end on laps 60, 120, 250
- CW, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90
- Last year’s winner: Sam Mayer

No cars will miss the race with 38 drivers entered for the 38 available spots.
Notable on the entry list includes:
- Patrick Emerling: No. 07 for SS-Green Light Racing
- Ross Chastain: No. 9 for JR Motorsports
- Garrett Smithley: No. 14 for SS-Green Light Racing
- Corey Day: No. 17 for Hendrick Motorsports
- Justin Bonsignore: No. 19 for Joe Gibbs Racing
- Tyler Tomassi: No. 35 for Joey Gase Motorsports
- Mason Massey: No. 45 for Alpha Prime Racing
- Joey Gase: No. 53 for Joey Gase Motorsports
- Thomas Annunziata: No. 70 for Cope Family Racing
- Dawson Cram: No. 74 for Mike Harmon Racing
- Josh Bilicki: No. 91 for DGM Racing x JIM
More NASCAR and motorsports news from the racing experts
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Dominic Aragon is currently the editor-in-chief for The Racing Experts.
From Grants, New Mexico, USA, Aragon started watching NASCAR in 2004 and has been covering the sport since 2009. Aragon is a 2012 graduate of Grants High School and a May 2016 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Mass Communications & Journalism. Aragon has worked in local and national media, as a musician, and an educator. He is co-author of the 2024 book “All of It: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story” with racer Geoff Bodine.
Aragon, his wife Feliz, and son Christopher currently reside in Grants, New Mexico, USA.
You can reach Dominic at daragon@theracingexperts.net.
Motorsports
Long: Bubba Wallace takes pre-race message to heart to claim Brickyard 400 victory
INDIANAPOLIS — Amid the formality of the NASCAR Cup pre-race drivers meeting, Doug Boles had a message for competitors. The president of Indianapolis Motor Speedway noted that this year marked the 30th anniversary of Dale Earnhardt’s 1995 victory at the track, Boles then highlighted Tony Stewart’s win here in 2005 and Kyle Busch’s victory in […]

INDIANAPOLIS — Amid the formality of the NASCAR Cup pre-race drivers meeting, Doug Boles had a message for competitors.
The president of Indianapolis Motor Speedway noted that this year marked the 30th anniversary of Dale Earnhardt’s 1995 victory at the track, Boles then highlighted Tony Stewart’s win here in 2005 and Kyle Busch’s victory in 2015 at the Brickyard.
“So the people that win on the fives tend to be iconic people in our sport,” Boles said to the drivers. “Hopefully, you are already right on your way to being iconic or at the beginning of that. And you look back at the Brickyard 400 … and think it started right here.”
Boles’ message resonated with a driver.
The one who bear hugged him after a 420-mile Sunday drive — in a race extended by two overtimes.
“I heard all that you said in the drivers meeting,” Bubba Wallace told Boles after Wallace scored his third career Cup victory and snapped a 100-race winless streak. “I thought I’m going to be the guy that wins and makes this an iconic event.”
A different viewpoint
When Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan hired Wallace to be the team’s first driver ahead the 2021 season, Hamlin said Sunday that “I believed in his capability, not necessarily the results that (he’d) shown, but I understood his potential.”
Unlocking that potential was another thing.
“It was kind of a time where we were wrestling like, ‘Man do I want it worse than him or not,’” Hamlin said of Wallace. “I can’t make him want it. … That’s going to have to come from within.”
He holds off Kyle Larson for win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Hamlin saw Wallace start to show that increased drive the next year when Kurt Busch joined the team and again when Tyler Reddick came to 23XI Racing in 2023 — teammates providing motivation.
Even so, Wallace didn’t win. His last Cup victory came in 2022.
“We want to win and we put a lot of resources into doing that,” Hamlin said. “So he’s felt pressure. I think he’s felt the pressure not only from me but Michael and everyone.”
Although Wallace missed the playoffs last year for the third time in four seasons at 23XI Racing, Hamlin said he saw a change in the driver.
“His valleys weren’t as low,” Hamlin said. “It seemed like on the bad days, he was able to compartmentalize that and then think about the positives vs. everything sucks all the time.
“That’s a tough way to live. We’re in a business that if you can win 5% of the time you’re a Hall of Famer. You’re going to lose. This is a losing business. You have to find happiness in some other way than actually winning.”
The change happened around the time Wallace became a father.
“Putting family first, that’s all that matters,” Wallace said. “Makes things easier. It gives you something to kind of focus onto.”
A new voice
With the pressure to succeed, Wallace faced another challenge this season. The team hired Charles Denike, who had no Cup experience, to be Wallace’s crew chief.
From the beginning, Hamlin touted Denike, a former military officer, as a game-changer for Wallace.
Wallace started the season strong. Winning seemed likely.
But then it didn’t come. Even after being among the leaders in stage points early in the season, Wallace found himself in the same place he has been in past summers — at or near the playoff cutline late in the regular season.
Entering Sunday’s race at Indianapolis, Wallace held the final playoff spot by 16 points on Ryan Preece.
The 23XI Racing driver held off Kyle Larson on multiple restarts in overtime.
Adding to the pressure was the weather that changed the weekend schedule for teams.
Rain canceled Friday’s 50-minute practice, so NASCAR gave teams a 25-minute session Saturday. Even a 2.5-mile track can be crowded with traffic and not give teams a good read on their qualifying setup. With track position key, qualifying carries a heightened importance.
But Wallace told Denike before qualifying: “I don’t completely know what I have in the car.”
“This is superstar qualifying,” Denike told Wallace. “This is what we show up to do.”
Wallace qualified second. He would be a contender in Sunday’s race.
Quieting the doubts
Wallace was strong all race. He had the best average running position (4.93) of any driver Sunday and led 30 laps.
Denike’s strategy kept Wallace toward the front and gave him a shot to win.
That forced others to react.
When the third stage began 55 laps from the scheduled end, leader Kyle Larson was told not to save fuel. Crew chief Cliff Daniels wanted Larson to build a gap between he and Wallace, who was running sixth after the restart but had had pitted later than Larson and many others ahead. That meant Wallace needed less time for his final pit stop because he didn’t require as much fuel as others.
Here’s what NASCAR drivers were saying after the 23XI Racing driver’s victory in the crown jewel event.
Wallace moved to the lead at Lap 143 as others pitted in what became a 168-lap race after the two overtimes.
Although he led, thoughts of losing struck him.
Why would he think that?
“I wish I had the answer to that,” Wallace said. “I think that’s my biggest downfall. We’re all human, and we’re all super hard on ourselves.”
He found a way to counter those negative thoughts.
“I’m like, (expletive) right, we can do this,” Wallace said. “It was kind of like the angel and devil on your shoulder. It wasn’t all negative. But to even have that thought, it’s like, ‘Man, come on, focus.’”
Dueling a champion
Wallace led when rain in Turn 1 stopped the race four laps from the scheduled distance. Most of the track didn’t get wet but Turn 1 had enough rain NASCAR stopped the race for 18 minutes to dry that part of the speedway.
When the race resumed, Wallace had Larson aligned next to him on the front row.
Wallace and Larson ran side by side into Turn 1 on the restart before Wallace pulled ahead at the exit of Turn 2.
“He was first gear on both (of the overtime restarts),” Larson said, “but the first one, he was just a little bit faster paced for the restart zone. I stayed second gear and he got a launch and I was able to just kind of barely hang on his right rear quarter and then drag him back and kind of pull my momentum.”
But it wasn’t enough to get by Wallace.
A crash on the backstretch gave Larson another chance with a second overtime restart.
Cup drivers recap Indianapolis race won by Wallace
Hear from Kyle Larson, Ryan Preece, Alex Bowman, Ty Gibbs, Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace following the NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis.
Wallace had to outduel Larson — who won this race last year — on another restart to have a chance to win.
On the second restart, Wallace took the lead easily by Turn 2 on Larson.
The difference was a tactical change Wallace made on his restart that Larson could not counter.
“He brought the pace down so slow I had to be in first gear as well (as Wallace) and just kind of launched with him,” Larson said. “So I had no momentum that time.”
As Wallace raced to the finish line, there were no negative thoughts. He credits reading “The Daily Stoic,” a book that states it’s designed to help make people happier, along with better parents and professionals.
“It just kind of got me in the philosophical mindset today, trying to understand things from a different perspective,” Wallace said.
“Walking out of the motorhome, I felt different. Walking into the drivers meeting and finding a seat by myself, pulling up my phone and looking at my race notes of what to do, what to expect. Doug (Boles) has been a huge supporter of mine, and I appreciate that.
“So when he was speaking, he mentioned a caveat (about the victories by Earnhardt, Stewart and Busch at this track), and I thought it was interesting. He said, This could be the start of becoming a legend. … I don’t think I’m a legend by any means. I’ve got a lot of work to do, but it all starts with days like today.”
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