Bubba Wallace does welfare check on spotter Freddie Kraft after Brickyard 400 weather delay

Bubba Wallace and his spotter, Freddie Kraft, had a funny exchange during a weather delay at the Brickyard 400 on Sunday. As the cars were parked during a red flag, Wallace had a question for Kraft.

“Freddie, you still up there?” Bubba Wallace asked on the team radio. Freddie Kraft replied, “I haven’t jumped yet.”

When NASCAR called for the red flag, Wallace was leading the Brickyard 400 with four laps remaining. The 31-year-old was looking for his first victory since September 2022. The race went into double overtime, and Wallace held off Kyle Larson to win the Brickyard 400.

In the race, Wallace led three times for 23 of the 168 laps in the No. 23 Toyota. He clinched a spot in the playoffs with four races remaining in the regular season.

It’s been a roller-coaster-type of season for Wallace, who is looking to reach the playoffs after missing them last year. Before finishing seventh at Dover last week, Wallace had four consecutive races where he finished outside the top 20.

The start of the 2025 season was strong for Wallace, as he earned a P9 finish at Atlanta and had two consecutive P3 finishes at Homestead and Martinsville. But Wallace’s season also includes three consecutive finishes where he finished outside the top 30.

In April, Wallace talked about working with his new crew chief, Charles Denike. “All signs are pointing upward,” Wallace said in an exclusive interview with Racing America On SI (per 23XI Racing’s official website). “It’s nice to have some results to follow up with the effort that we’re putting in, but it’s a long season. [You] Can’t get complacent gotta keep it going. We have a lot of good tracks coming up. Darlington and Bristol coming up for sure are two [tracks] that we’re excited for. It takes a whole army to make everything happen for our race team, and it’s nice to see it all being put together.”

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