Bubba Wallace left Indianapolis Motor Speedway late on Sunday as a NASCAR Cup Series winner once again, but he could have been $1 million richer as well.

Wallace, now 31, had to wait three long years and 100 miserable races to finally snap a winless streak that stretched way back to 2022.

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He held off Hendrick Motorsports star Kyle Larson in a thrilling finish after holding his nerve under massive pressure as the checkered flag beckoned.

As well as the win, and a massive post-race party (at which he took center stage shirtless), Wallace nailed down a spot in the postseason Cup Series playoffs. But he did miss out on what could have been a massive financial bonus.

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In-Season Challenge decision costs Wallace

This is courtesy of the controversial decision by NASCAR to seed its new In-Season Challenge based on a three-race qualification period.

Many experts believed it was the wrong move, claiming instead that seeding should have been based on regular-season standings when the Challenge began.

That decision saw Wallace and his No. 23 car seeded ninth, which saw him face off against Daniel Suarez in round one, and eventually, Alex Bowman in round two, whom he was knocked out by.

However, as perfectly illustrated in this bracket here, the 23XI Racing star would have gone on to claim victory in the In-Season tournament had his seeding been based on the regular season.

Wallace would have been seeded 10th and, based on results over the five In-Season Challenge races, would have defeated Todd Gilliland, Austin Dillon, Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick and Justin Haley on the way to scooping the cash.

Instead, it was Ty Gibbs in the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota who defeated Ty Dillon on Sunday to claim that $1million prize. He needed to finish ahead of Dillon in the Brickyard 400 and did so with a 21st-place result. Dillon was 28th – three laps down.

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