'We did it': Bubba Wallace emotional after Brickyard 400 victory

It's no secret that Bubba Wallace wears his heart on his sleeve. 

Over a NASCAR Cup Series career that is now in its eighth full-time season, Wallace has seen more than his share of ups and downs. He celebrated when he earned 23XI Racing's first NASCAR win — as well as the first of his Cup Series career — at Talladega in 2021. Then he won again at Kansas in 2022. 

But just weeks after his second Cup Series win, he reached what was perhaps the lowest point of his career when he intentionally wrecked Kyle Larson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, incurring a one-race suspension. 

What followed that incident was a renewed Wallace, both as a driver and as a man. 

In 2023, Wallace made the Cup Series playoffs for the first time, in 2024, Wallace and his wife, Amanda, welcomed their son Becks and on Sunday, Wallace broke a 100-race winless streak and sewed up a playoff spot by winning one of NASCAR's crown jewel events in the Brickyard 400 — all while having to save fuel and battle a future Hall of Famer in Larson. 

"It's been an incredibly fun but difficult journey," Wallace told TNT Sports. "It (the winless drought) was going on three years. We did it. That's the first thing my wife said to me.

"You have no idea how many times I told myself I couldn't do it (over) those last 20 laps," Wallace continued, "And here we are. This s--- is so hard. I look in the mirror, and I'm like, 'here we go with the 5, what's going to happen?' I thought (during) that first green-white-checkered, to be the best, you have to beat the best. We can all say Kyle Larson is the best right now. It's an honor and a privilege to race with him. 

"I go back to what (23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan) said last year at Darlington: Things you want more cost more. Larson wasn't getting that from me."

It may have been a long road back to victory lane for Wallace, but it's safe to say the journey, however difficult it was, was well worth the effort.