Dale Earnhardt won the Brickyard 400 in 1995. Tony Stewart added his name in the history books in 2005, and Kyle Busch did the same in 2015.
Years ending in “5” have had strong legacies in Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s NASCAR Cup Series races.
Before the start of last year’s 2025 Brickyard 400 Presented by PPG, IMS President J. Douglas Boles reminded the drivers during their pre-race meeting that the winner would become the next legendary name in the race's storied history.
Wallace listened intently, and he became the newest driver to cement his place among the race's legends.
"I just kind of sat in that driver's meeting and listened to Doug Boles mention Earnhardt and Kyle," Wallace said. "I stared at the trophy, and I was like, 'Man, I want to take that home today.' Little did I know I was staring at the wrong trophy. I was staring at the massive one, and still I wanted to take it home."
The day unfolded almost exactly as Wallace envisioned.
Driving the No. 23 Chumba Casino Toyota for 23XI Racing, co-owned by basketball legend Michael Jordan and NASCAR star Denny Hamlin, Wallace held off defending Brickyard 400 winner Kyle Larson by .222 of a second to snap a 100-race NASCAR Cup Series winless streak dating to fall 2022.
In the process, Wallace became the first African American driver to win the prestigious NASCAR crown jewel event at Indy.
"That adrenaline rush is crazy," Wallace said after his victory. "I'm worn out. Unbelievable. To win here at the Brickyard, knowing how big this race is, knowing all the noise that's going on in the background, to set that all aside is a testament to these people here on this 23 team. It's been getting old, running on the playoff cut line.
"How many days since my last win? Zero."
Wallace recently reflected that everything seemed to fall into place that weekend.
"The day just kind of went flawlessly," he said. "We really had a really fast car. The situation kind of worked out there at the end to gain the lead, and we were able to hang on. As much as the fuel-mileage race was, we still had enough in the tank to celebrate with the team.
"It was a pretty special day. I don't know if I felt picked to win, but it was just one of those weekends where nothing was going to stop us from getting into Victory Lane. That's kind of how I treated it, and it worked out."
Wallace took the lead for good on Lap 143 of 160 when leader Ryan Blaney brought the No. 12 Menards/Delta Ford to pit road. Wallace immediately stretched his advantage, leading teammate Tyler Reddick by nearly five seconds while Larson climbed to second in the closing stages.
Larson steadily reeled Wallace in, trimming a five-second deficit to just over three seconds by Lap 154. But while Larson searched for speed, Wallace and crew chief Charles Denike were monitoring another concern -- fuel.
Wallace had made his final pit stop on Lap 117, putting him right on the edge of the expected fuel window to reach the finish. Larson, who pitted four laps later, appeared to have enough fuel to race flat out.
Then another twist arrived.
Light rain in Turn 1 brought out the fifth caution on Lap 156 before the race was red-flagged one lap later, setting up an overtime finish and adding even more uncertainty to Wallace's fuel situation.
The first overtime restart lasted only moments before another caution forced a second green-white-checkered attempt. Wallace again lined up alongside Larson, surged ahead entering Turn 1 and this time never relinquished the lead.
Larson searched high and low over the final lap but could not find a way around Wallace, who crossed the Yard of Bricks first before celebrating with a series of smoky burnouts on the front straightaway.
As Wallace returns to Indianapolis as the defending Brickyard 400 winner for this year’s race Sunday, July 26, he hopes last year's breakthrough was only the beginning.
23XI Racing won the Daytona 500 with Reddick. Can Wallace earn a second consecutive crown jewel?
"I've always loved that place, and we've always seemed to run really well there," Wallace said. "It'll be fun trying to go back to back."
