Bubba Wallace identifies his “biggest problem” after NASCAR Brickyard win

Bubba Wallace says his breakthrough victory in the Brickyard 400 helped him uncover the key mental block that has kept him from winning consistently in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Starting second on the grid, Wallace outduelled the Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Kyle by 0.222s at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, driving the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota to his first victory of the season.

Wallace was unsure if he had enough fuel to reach the finish line, but he held his nerve amid a late rain shower and two overtime restarts to end a 100-day winning drought stretching back to the Kansas race in 2022.

In the Victory Lane, he was congratulated by a number of his rivals, and was also joined by members of his family.

Speaking in the post-race press conference, Wallace admitted he wrestled with self-doubt during the crucial final laps and acknowledged that overcoming this mental hurdle is key to becoming a more consistent contender in the Cup Series.

“Coming off turn 4, I knew it was a good turn 4,” he said. “I knew [Larson] wasn’t going to get there, so I knew we won. Unless I ran out of gas early, that it was ours.

“I’m quite surprised I wasn’t crying like a little baby. I was I guess more relieved. I really thought this year started out way different than any other year. Mentally for sure it has, but here we are in the same spot before the race, same spot. Is Bubba Wallace going to make it in on the playoffs? I’m the last car in with five to go, six to go, whatever it is.

“We’re here. It’s like, Damn, dude, what is it? Is it me? I said earlier it takes me back to when Blaney won the 600. You don’t know if you’re going to be able to do it again.

“Those last 20 laps, it was probably 20 laps of telling myself, I’m not going to be able to do it. So I have found my biggest problem, and that’s this. If I could shut that off mentally, fully, we could do a lot more of this.

“So we keep pushing. Winning now, before the playoffs start, never done that before. There’s a lot of new stuff for me, so I’m just taking it all in.”

He added: “We’re all human, and we’re all super hard on ourselves. You guys know how hard I am on myself.

“At the same time, I was combatting, and I’m like, F***** right, we can do this. 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.

“That all went away on the restarts because it was time to really focus and get the job done. Yeah, just still working out those kinks and growing as a person. It’s just really cool to be sitting here in front of you guys, so I appreciate it.”

Wallace took the lead on lap 142 when Penske driver Ryan Blaney headed into the pits, but it was Larson who emerged as his closest challenger in the No. 5 Hendrick Chevrolet.

Wallace held a comfortable advantage with four laps to run when the rain hit Indianapolis, prompting NASCAR to stop the race to dry the track.

As the resumed under overtime, Wallace made a clear restart, but a five-car crash on the backstretch prompted another caution period.

Despite the pressure, the Alabama native held his nerve to score his third career victory in the Cup Series.

Speaking afterwards, Wallace said his win tasted sweeter because he had beaten Larson in a straight duel.

“Caution comes out. Blaney is nowhere to be found, and it’s the 5. I’m like, What the hell is [the spotter] talking about? 

“Once I seen that it was Larson, I knew I would have to roll the sleeves up. He won here last year, and he’s arguably the best in the field. I have no problem saying that. I respect the hell out of what he does, how he drives. He pushes us all to be that good.

“So to beat the best, we had to be the best today. We were able to come out on top.

“Today was a surreal feeling. Pre-race, I told Dale and those guys on TV, like, I rode around under the parade lap in the truck, and I just didn’t hear any noise. It was very weird, something I’ve never experienced. I had the mentality that this was ours to take today.

“I heard a lot of people say some good things that I kind of latched onto. Doug Boles, he mentioned 2005. Tony Stewart won 2015. Kyle Busch won. Legends win on the 5. I’m not calling myself a legend, but it worked out.”