Bubba Wallace finally got his long-awaited victory in emphatic fashion, winning the 2025 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And NASCAR insiders are calling it the defining performance of his career.After a 100-race winless drought, Wallace outlasted two late-race restarts, and he did it while going head-to-head with Kyle Larson, who is widely regarded as the best in the sport. With his win, Wallace has now booked himself a playoff berth, earning a crown jewel victory in a season full of questions.On The Teardown podcast, Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic broke it all down."It's interesting because Bubba Wallace has now won this race. His teammate Tyler Reddick, has not. Denny Hamlin, his car owner, has not, but Bubba Wallace has. And this was a very much deserved win. This was a guy who went out on two late race restarts, against arguably the best driver in the world and outdueled him and deserved the win. And he did everything right this weekend. He managed the weekend well. He managed the expectations well. He managed the stress of the late race situations. He didn't flinch once," Jordan Bianchi said. (1:51 onwards)Bubba Wallace started on the front row alongside pole-sitter Chase Briscoe. Toyota had swept the top five in qualifying. Wallace, in the No. 23 Toyota, quickly found himself in the mix and ran upfront for most of the race, finishing both stages in the top 10.The key moment came during green-flag pit stops on the final stage when Joey Logano dropped out of contention after a blown tire, and the 23XI Racing No. 23 suddenly controlled the race. He built a commanding lead of over four seconds on Larson by Lap 154, but then came the rain and triggered a red flag.Gluck detailed how the race pivoted into Wallace's control and the challenges he still had to overcome:"Once Logano blew the tire, it was like, 'Okay, well, I guess Bubba's in control here and he's actually pulling away and he's got a decent lead and I don't think Larson has time'. The caution comes out and it’s like, 'Okay, well, sorry, but now you're going to have Kyle Larson next to you on the front row'… He hasn't really been in these situations that much late race. Again, he's going against NASCAR's best. I'm like, I don't think he's going to do it." (3:29 onwards)Once the red flag was lifted at Lap 158, Wallace pulled ahead of Larson cleanly on the restart. But Zane Smith triggered a multi-car accident on the backstretch, sending the race into its second overtime attempt. Wallace didn't waver. He stayed on track, gambling on the fuel situation.With the white flag in sight, he cleared Larson and held the lead, crossing the line 0.222 seconds ahead. He led 30 laps on the day - including the final 26 - to earn his third career victory and first ever in a regular-season points-paying event. His crew chief, Charles Denike, credited his ability to stay mentally composed and execute the late-race restarts.NASCAR insiders say Brickyard is Bubba Wallace's most impressive win yetNASCAR Cup Series driver Bubba Wallace (23) celebrates winning the Brickyard 400. Source: ImagnBubba Wallace now has three Cup Series wins to his name. But this was different. He won Talladega in 2021 and Kansas in 2022 - both during the playoffs as a non-playoff driver. Sunday's triumph was his first during the regular season. And critically, it was the first that punched his ticket directly into the postseason.As Jordan Bianchi put it plainly:"Out of all of his three wins, this is by far the most impressive to me."To which Gluck added:"Oh, well, yeah, no doubt... Bubba Wallace had never won a regular-season race… He'd won Talladega and Kansas when they were in the playoffs as non-playoff drivers… he's made the playoffs on points, but he never won his way into the playoffs." (4:22 onwards)Bubba Wallace entered Indy on the playoff bubble — five races to go, four spots up for grabs, and no margin for error. With his victory, that pressure is off. Now he joins teammate Tyler Reddick (a healthy +138 above the cutline) in what is shaping up to be a strong two-car playoff bid for 23XI Racing.Even amid the distraction of a court ruling that has left the team unchartered, 23XI Racing has been steady on track. Rookie Riley Herbst has also contributed with six top-20 finishes in his first full Cup season, offering additional optimism for the outfit's long-term depth.