NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson resorted to prayers to provide extra fuel in his attempt to capture back-to-back Brickyard 400 titles.
Running second to Bubba Wallace late in Sunday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Larson admitted to “praying that he’d run out of fuel,” he told Frontstretch.
Larson also had to invoke a plea in reverse.
“I also didn’t wanna run out of fuel myself either,” he said.
When rain forced a Stage 3 delay, Larson and his No. 5 Chevrolet team calculated their chances of finishing in regulation, let alone possible overtime laps, remained thin.
“From our numbers, it sounded like Bubba was maybe a little bit closer than us,” Larson said. “So, yeah, like I said, I was hoping he’d run out of fuel for me.”
It didn’t happen as Wallace cruised to his first “Crown Jewell” event in double overtime, winning by 0.222 seconds. Wallace elected to take his “preferred lane” on the inside during the OT restarts. The No. 23 Toyota paced the field over the final 30 rotations.
Larson’s prayers may not have emptied Wallace’s fuel tank, but his wishes for a points title remained steady. With four regular-season events remaining, Larson ranks third with 711 points. He trails the drivers’ standings leader and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott by 15 points.
"I was praying that he'd run out of fuel, but I also didn't want to run out of fuel myself either."
–@KyleLarsonRacin talks about the overtime finishes after coming up one spot short of a win in the #Brickyard400.#NASCAR
Presenting Partner: @MyPlaceHotels pic.twitter.com/5stuu2ZO1p— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) July 27, 2025
NASCAR National Series, ARCA Menards Series Weekend Schedule
Here is a list of NASCAR National Series and ARCA Menards Series events this weekend at Iowa Speedway (All Times ET):
Friday
- 3:30 p.m.: ARCA Series practice
- 4:30 p.m.: ARCA Series qualifying
- 7 p.m.: ARCA Series Atlas 150 race
Saturday
- 11 a.m.: Xfinity Series practice
- 12:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series qualifying
- 1:30 p.m.: Cup Series practice
- 12:05 p.m.: Cup Series qualifying
- 4:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series HyVee Perks 250 race
Sunday
- 3:30 p.m.: Cup Series Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol race
To the best fans in the country, thank you. 🥹🙌#IowaCorn350 pic.twitter.com/2KnsLpZ4AM
— Iowa Speedway (@iowaspeedway) June 17, 2025
Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol Entry List
NASCAR Cup Series officials released the entry list for Sunday’s Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol at Iowa Speedway:
Entry, Driver, Car No.
- 1, Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet
- 2, Austin Cindric No. 2 Ford
- 3, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet
- 4, Noah Gragson, No. 4 Ford
- 5, Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet
- 6, Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford
- 7, Justin Haley, No. 7 Chevrolet
- 8, Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevrolet
- 9, Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet
- 10, Ty Dillon, No. 10 Chevrolet
- 11, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota
- 12, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford
- 13, AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet
- 14, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford
- 15, Chase Briscoe, No. 19, Toyota
- 16, Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota
- 17, Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford
- 18, Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford
- 19, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota
- 20, William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet
- 21, Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford
- 22, Riley Herbst, No. 35 Toyota
- 23, Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford
- 24, Cole Custer, No. 41 Ford
- 25, John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota
- 26, Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota
- 27, Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota
- 28, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Ford
- 29, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet
- 30, Cody Ware, No. 51 Ford
- 31, Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota
- 32, Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford
- 33, Joey Gase, No. 66 Ford
- 34, Michael McDowell, No. 71 Chevrolet
- 35, Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet
- 36, Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Chevrolet
- 37, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet
Bubba Wallace had enough fuel for an emphatic burnout
His third Cup Series win, his first since 2022, and the first crown jewel win of his career pic.twitter.com/J0cwtfMBbJ
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) July 27, 2025
