Kyle Larson survives two NASCAR Xfinity Series overtimes to win at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday in the Andy’s Frozen Custard 300.
FORT WORTH, Texas — Crew chief Mardy Lindley called his shot.
Kyle Larson Survives to Win
“We’ve got to stop to win,” Lindley radioed to driver Kyle Larson, subbing for injured Connor Zilisch in the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet.
Lindley was right. Larson made a late pit stop, battled two overtimes, and won Saturday’s Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 at Texas Motor Speedway.
The victory was Larson’s second of the season. Larson drove to a dominating win at Bristol in mid-April. It was his second victory at Texas and the 17th of his career. The victory came with Larson charging from the seventh position on a lap 194 restart. He was behind six cars that stayed out on older tires, to win in two extra periods.
Larson was cruising to a probable win while leading more than six seconds. On lap 188, Corey Day, in the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, hit the tire barrier inside the third turn. That hit brought out the ninth of 11 cautions.
That’s when Lindley decided to bring Larson to pit road for a call that ultimately put the No. 17 car in position to win the race. After moving from third to second on the first overtime restart, Larson took the lead from defending race winner Sam Mayer in the second overtime and pulled away to win by 1.265 seconds over Taylor Gray, who surged from fourth to second in the final two laps.
“It was a lot of survival, I felt like in that race,” Larson said. “I got in some wrecks, the balance we had to work on quite a bit. So, it was fun. I felt like if I could ever get the lead, I could stretch it out, but I couldn’t get by Justin (Allgaier). He was running where I needed to be.
“Thanks to JRM for letting me come run this thing here today. Obviously, I wish Connor was in the car, but it means a lot that they thought of me to call up to run this thing.”
As Larson worked his way through the field twice—once from the 20th starting position and again after an uncontrolled tire penalty sent him to the rear after the first stage break—Allgaier led a race-high 99 laps and kept Larson at bay until a cycle of green-flag pit stops in the final stage scrambled the running order.
Lap Leader, Justin Allgaier versus Kris Wright
During that pit cycle, Allgaier’s race came to an untimely end. Running 12th after pitting on lap 153, Allgaier closed fast on the No. 5 Chevrolet of Kris Wright near the exit from the fourth turn.
Wright failed to hold the bottom lane and drifted up the track into Allgaier’s line. Allgaier moved toward the inside but couldn’t avoid Wright’s car. The No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet slammed into the outside wall in the tri-oval, slid down onto the infield grass, and ended the race on a wrecker.
Allgaier, who had lost position to Larson during the pit sequence, was gracious in his assessment of the wreck that ended his day.
“The hard part is, ultimately it falls on my shoulders,” Allgaier said. “We’d about gotten crashed a couple laps before the green-flag stop there, and I think they had some damage and he (Wright) was having a bit of a tough time with his race car, and I’m trying to catch back to the 88 and trying to push and ultimately put myself in a bad position…
“Kyle and I had a great battle, and I was having a lot of fun with it. Obviously, the guy’s ultra-fast in anything that he drives… I think probably the most disappointing part about today is that it’s my mom’s birthday. I would love to get a trophy and celebrate her birthday with that, but instead I’m standing here talking to you guys.”
Allgaier’s exit opened the door for Mayer, Gray, Austin Hill, and Nick Sanchez. Driving the No. 48 Big Machine Racing Chevrolet, Sanchez ran consistently in the top five until the second overtime, when he hit the wall and dropped to 20th at the finish.
The Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 Results
Riley Herbst finished third after restarting sixth in the final overtime, with Hill coming home fourth, Mayer fifth, and Harrison Burton sixth. Jesse Love, Ryan Sieg, Brandon Jones, and Jeb Burton completed the top ten.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series Point Standings
The gap between the series points leader, Justin Allgaier, and second-place Austin Hill closed to 51 markers. Sam Mayer, Jesse Love, and Brandon Jones complete the top five.
Rookie Carson Kvapil sits in sixth place. Completing the top ten are Jeb Burton, Ryan Sieg, Sammy Smith, and Harrison Burton.
Up Next
The NASCAR Xfinity Series is taking the next two weeks off. They return to action on Saturday, May 24th at Charlotte Motor Speedway. BetMGM 300 starts at 4:30 pm ET on CW, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Elliott won this race in 2024 for Hendrick Motorsports.