INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Bubba Wallace became the first Black driver to win on Indianapolis Motor Speedways 2.5-mile oval, surviving a late rain delay, two overtimes, concerns over running out of fuel and a hard-charging Kyle Larson on Sunday in the Brickyard 400.
The third NASCAR Cup victory of Wallaces career was also his biggest. It snapped a 100-race winless streak that dated to 2022 at Kansas. He also won at Talladega in 2021. Its his first win at one of NASCARs four crown jewel races.
Unbelievable, Wallace shouted on his radio after crossing the yard of bricks.
And while the final gap was 0.222 seconds, he didnt reach victory lane without some consternation.
Larson trailed by 5.057 seconds with 14 laps to go but the gap was down to about three seconds with six remaining when the yellow flag came out because of rain. The cars rolled to a stop on pit lane with four to go, giving Wallace about 20 additional minutes to think and rethink his restart strategy.
But after beating Larson through the second turn, a crash behind the leaders forced a second overtime, extending the race even more laps as Wallaces team thought he might run out of gas.
Wallace risked everything by staying on the track then beat the defending race winner off the restart again to prevent Larson from becoming the fourth back-to-back winner of the Brickyard.
It also alleviated the frustration Wallace felt Saturday when he spent most of the qualifying session on the provisional pole only to see Chase Briscoe surpass with one of the last runs in the session.
He made sure there was no repeat Sunday, giving an added boost to the 23XI Racing co-owned by basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan and last weeks race winner, Denny Hamlin, as it continues to battle NASCAR in court over its charter status.
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AP auto racing:
印第安纳波利斯（美联社）——布巴·华莱士周日在美国纳斯卡赛车砖厂400大赛中，克服了降雨导致的延迟、两次加时赛、燃油耗尽的担忧以及凯尔·拉森的猛烈追击，成为首位在印第安纳波利斯赛车场2.5英里椭圆形赛道上夺冠的黑人车手。
华莱士职业生涯中第三次赢得NASCAR杯赛冠军，这也是他迄今为止最重要的一场胜利。此次夺冠终结了自2022年堪萨斯站以来长达100场比赛的冠军荒。他曾在2021年塔拉迪加站夺冠，而本次胜利则是他在NASCAR四大皇冠明珠赛事中的首度折桂。
“太不可思议了！”华莱士（Wallace）冲过砖砌庭院后，对着无线电喊道。
尽管最终差距仅为0.222秒，但他并非毫无悬念地抵达了胜利车道。
比赛还剩14圈时，拉尔森落后5.057秒，但剩余6圈因降雨触发黄旗时，差距已缩小至约3秒。所有赛车在剩余4圈时停入维修区，这为华莱士提供了约20分钟的额外时间反复推敲重启策略。
但在拉尔森（Larson）通过第二个弯道后，领先车手后方发生碰撞事故，迫使比赛进入第二次加时，导致圈数进一步增加——华莱士（Wallace）的团队当时甚至担心他的赛车燃油即将耗尽。
华莱士孤注一掷选择留在赛道，随后在重启阶段再度击败卫冕冠军，成功阻止拉尔森成为砖厂（印第安纳波利斯赛道）历史上第四位蝉联冠军的车手。
这也缓解了华莱士在周六排位赛中的沮丧情绪——他大部分时间占据临时杆位，却在最后几圈被蔡斯·布里斯科反超。
他确保周日不会重蹈覆辙，为23XI车队注入了新的动力。该车队由篮球名人堂成员迈克尔·乔丹和上周比赛冠军丹尼·哈姆林共同拥有，目前正就特许经营权问题与NASCAR在法庭上展开较量。
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