NASCAR: Saturday Indianapolis Motor Speedway Notebook

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service

Bubba Wallace has a strong, specific memory of Brickyard triumph

SPEEDWAY, Ind.—The magnitude of the Brickyard 400 isn’t lost on defending winner Bubba Wallace.

At the 16th Street entrance to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a giant banner featuring Wallace in his driver’s uniform hangs on the back of the grandstand alongside other former winners of the race, many of them already members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

There’s nostalgia involved with the most important of Wallace’s three NASCAR Cup Series victories. The image of son Becks, not yet one year old, lying on Wallace’s stomach on the asphalt near the iconic Yard of Bricks is indelible.

The one aspect Wallace remembers most about July 27, 2025, however, is distilled into a single word—winning.

“It’s a very boring answer, but winning in the regular season was something I’d never done in my previous two wins,” Wallace said. “That just allows you to unlock a new way of thinking inside the race car. The next four weeks after our Brickyard win, I didn’t really care how we finished, because I knew we were in the Playoffs.”

As Wallace prepares to defend his victory, the rules have changed. With the return to the Chase format this year, no longer does a win guarantee a spot in the postseason.

“But, yeah, the biggest memory is just winning,” said Wallace, who held off Kyle Larson in two overtimes to earn the victory by 0.222 seconds.

Chase or not, a return to Victory Lane this year would be just as sweet.

Interview: Bubba Wallace (No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota) –

Alex Bowman is calling it quits because it’s the right time

It’s certainly true that Alex Bowman has had his share of injuries and illnesses that have interrupted his career as a NASCAR Cup Series driver.

But that’s not the primary reason Bowman has decided to leave the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet after one more season in the car.

“I don’t think physical health is a number one contributor here in this situation for me,” said Bowman, who most recently suffered a bout of vertigo at Circuit of the Americas in March and remained out of his car for four races. “Obviously, I’ve had my fair share of injuries, but I can still do it.

“I still feel like I can do it, and I think with everything that we’ve figured out through the course of this season, everybody helping me in the athletic center with PT (physical therapy) every day, I think I’m in a good spot there and can continue doing it. I think for me, much more of it is things I want to do outside of the race car, other goals I have in life and stuff I want to do.”

Bowman and fiancé Chloe Henderson are building a house in rural North Carolina and looking forward to establishing what Bowman calls a normal life. The decision to retire from full-time racing after next season brings clarity to his situation.

“I think, for me, coming out and saying it and being like ‘Next year’s it’ makes it easier to be all-in for the next 53 weeks,” said Bowman, 33, who agreed to a one-year contract extension through 2027. “I mean, I’m ready to rip. I’ve always been all-in. I’m not worried about not wanting to do the work. I think that has never been a problem for me, and I’m excited to have 53 more chances at it…

“I would love to end on a really high note. Like, I mean, everything goes perfect and we go win a championship and I can walk out that way—that would be amazing, right? That’s not going to make me want to stay. I think for me—health-wise, mental-health-wise, kind of everything—this is what I needed to do that was best for me and things I want to do outside of the car.

Interview: Alex Bowman (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) and Jeff Andrews (President and General Manager, Hendrick Motorsports) – 

Christopher Bell “rocked” during sprint car event at Indy Dirt Track

There are inherent hazards in racing non-wing USAC sprint cars, as Christopher Bell well knows.

On Thursday night, he discovered that serving as a sprint car racing analyst can also have its perils.

Bell was on a lift over the Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, broadcasting the USAC National Sprint Car invitational at the 0.25-mile oval with FloSports, when a flying rock kicked up by one of the cars hit him in the elbow.

“I got smoked,” Bell said. “It really hurt.”

Fortunately, the flying rock did no permanent damage. In recent weeks the full-time driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota has been recovering from a broken left wrist he suffered in a brutal crash at Michigan Speedway.

So, was it the left elbow that was hit by the rock?

“Of course,” Bell said.

National Auto Body Council to donate “recycled ride” at Indy

An Indianapolis woman will receive a life-changing gift on Sunday, thanks to the National Auto Body Council and participating partners.

Through the NABC’s “Recycled Rides” program, Menajia Wright, who has aged out of foster care, will get a reliable, refurbished car that will allow her to commute to and from work without the expense of an Uber ride.

After leaving foster care, Wright rented an apartment and spent her savings on a car, which became inoperable after a month. Sunday’s donation, which will take place at 10:25 a.m. at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway Pagoda, will remedy that situation.

Wright was nominated for the gift by Fire Fly Children and Family Alliance. Participating partners of the gift include Allstate, which donated the vehicle; Gerber Collision & Glass of Fort Wayne, Ind., which refurbished the car; Brickyard 400 presenting sponsor PPG; and event supporter Enterprise.

Fire Fly Children and Family Alliance is a private, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in Indianapolis and dedicated to strengthening local communities by empowering individuals and building healthier families.

Interviews: