Kyle Larson capitalizes on substitute role with Xfinity victory at Texas

Kyle Larson was dubbed the super substitute competitor of the day. He wheeled Connor Zilisch’s No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet entry to a thrilling NASCAR Xfinity Series victory in the Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 3, amid two overtime shootouts.

The 2021 Cup Series champion from Elk Grove, California, led twice for 32 of 208 over-scheduled laps during the Xfinity event. He was substituting for Zilisch who is recovering from a lower back injury sustained in a final-lap accident at Talladega Superspeedway a week ago.

Larson rolled off the starting grid in 20th place. He navigated through four early caution periods to settle in the runner-up spot after the first stage. After a penalty for an uncontrolled tire violation during the first stage’s break period, he settled in 11th place after the second stage period. But, Larson would methodically navigate his way back toward the front and challenge teammate Justin Allgaier for the lead.

Following a late cycle of green flag pit stops and a caution for carnage involving Allgaier under the final 50 laps, Larson cycled to the lead. He used the advantage to muscle away from the field during a restart with 37 laps remaining. Despite having his large advantage erased due to another late caution with 13 laps remaining, Larson and several competitors opted to pit for fresh tires.

The call for tires paid big dividends. Larson navigated through three ensuing cautions and two overtime attempts to reassume the lead prior to the final lap. Larson led the final lap and cruised to both his second Xfinity victory of the 2025 season and his second in the Lone Star state.

On-track qualifying was canceled due to inclement weather and the starting lineup was based on a metric formula. As a result, Austin Hill, winner of last weekend’s Xfinity event at Talladega Superspeedway, was awarded the pole position. Joining Hill on the front row was Justin Allgaier.

When the green flag waved and the event commenced, Austin Hill briefly launched ahead from the field, using the inside lane through the frontstretch. Through the first two turns, Justin Allgaier, who started alongside Hill on the front row, used the outside lane to rocket his No. 7 Jarrett Chevrolet Camaro entry past Hill. He surged ahead and led entering the backstretch.

As Allgaier proceeded to lead the field through Turns 3 and 4, the event’s first caution flew. Ryan Ellis, who was racing in the top-20 mark, received a tap from rookie Christian Eckes. It resulted in Ellis spinning his No. 71 Eclipse Claims Consulting Chevrolet Camaro entry sideways toward the apron and the bottom of the track in Turns 3 and 4.

The start of the following restart on the sixth lap did not last long. Nick Leitz, briefly stepped out of the gas due to Daniel Dye clipping the frontstretch grass and tossing dirt on the track in front of him. This ignited a brief stack-up that resulted in Sammy Smith hitting the rear of Leland Honeyman. Honeyman then spun and collided with Leitz in the frontstretch.

At the moment of caution, Allgaier retained the lead over Hill. Jesse Love, Jeb Burton, Harrison Burton, Sam Mayer, Sheldon Creed, Matt DiBenedetto, Anthony Alfredo and rookie Nick Sanchez were scored in the top 10, respectively.

The event restarted under green on the 11th lap. Allgaier and Hill dueled for the lead through the frontstretch before Allgaier cleared Hill and the field for the top spot. With the lead in his possession, Allgaier proceeded o lead through the Lap 15 mark. By then, he was ahead by half a second over Hill while Creed, Love and Sanchez were racing in the top five.

On Lap 21, the caution returned. Josh Bilicki spun his No. 91 Rita’s Italian Ice Chevrolet Camaro entry through the frontstretch’s grass after slight contact from Leland Honeyman. Bilicki’s incident served as the competition caution that was planned due to the field receiving no practice from Friday’s weather washout.

During the competition caution, some including Love, DiBenedetto, Harrison Burton, Ryan Sieg, Daniel Dye, Carson Kvapil, Parker Retzlaff, Brennan Poole, Jeremy Clements, Mason Massey, Eckes, Kyle Sieg, Dean Thompson, Kris Wright and Ryan Ellis pitted. The rest of the drivers, led by Allgaier, remained on the track.

As the event restarted under green on Lap 25, Allgaier and Hill dueled for the lead for a second time. Allgaier cleared Hill through the first two turns. In the process, Hill struggled to maintain control from the outside lane. This allowed both Creed and Sanchez to overtake Hill for second and third, respectively, as Allgaier led the following lap. Behind, Kyle Larson was vying for fifth place from Mayer. Jones, Jeb Burton, Alfredo and Corey Day were in the top 10. As both Creed and Sanchez battled for the runner-up spot, Allgaier led to the Lap 30 mark.

Just past the Lap 35 mark, Allgaier extended his lead to more than two seconds over teammate Larson, who had acquired the spot two laps earlier. Behind, third-place Sanchez trailed by three seconds ahead of Hil land Mayer. Creed, Jones, Jeb Burton, Ryan Sieg and Alfredo were in the top 10.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 45, Allgaier captured his fourth Xfinity stage victory of the 2025 season. Larson, who reduced his deficit to two-tenths of a second, settled in second ahead of Sanchez. Hill, Mayer, Creed, Ryan Sieg, Jones, Jeb Burton completed the top 10.

Xfinity Series at Texas – Stage 2

Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Allgaier pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Hill exited pit road first and he was followed by Creed and Jones. During the stage break period, Eckes took his No. 16 Celsius Chevrolet Camaro entry to the garage after reporting a potential hole in a piston. Also, Larson was sent to the rear of the field due to an uncontrolled tire violation. Jeb Burton was also penalized for pitting outside his pit box.

The second stage period started on Lap 53 as Hill and Creed occupied the front row. At the start, Hill muscled ahead of Jones and the field through the frontstretch to retain the lead. Jones and Allgaier battled for third place. With Jones prevailing, Sanchez battled and navigated his way into third place over Jones. Meanwhile, Hill led to the Lap 55 mark. Hill led by three-tenths of a second over Allgaier by Lap 60. Creed, Sanchez and Love occupied the remaining top five spots. Ryan Sieg, Mayer, Riley Herbst, Corey Day and Jones were racing in the top 10 ahead of rookie William Sawalich, Josh Williams, Harrison Burton, Parker Retzlaff and rookie Taylor Gray.

Through the Lap 70 mark, Hill led by two-tenths of a second over Allgaier. Third-place Creed trailed by more than a second. As Hill continued to lead to the Lap 75 mark, Larson and Jeb Burton, both of whom were trying to recover from their pit road penalties, were mired in 15th and 27th, respectively. Love, Herbst, Day, Ryan Sieg and Jones were in the top 10.

Ten laps later, Hill led by six-tenths of a second over Allgaier. Creed, Sanchez and Mayer continued to trail in the top five. By then, Herbst had overtaken Love for sixth place as Jones, Gray and Ryan Sieg battled for ninth place. In addition, Larson carved his way up to 14th place as he was in between Kvapil and Josh Williams.

With three laps remaining in the second stage period, the caution flew as Kris Wright spun his No. 5 First National Bank Corp Chevrolet Camaro entry in the backstretch. Wright’s incident concluded the second stage period that was initially scheduled to conclude on Lap 90. Hill was awarded his sixth Xfinity stage victory of the 2025 season. Allgaier, who had nearly gotten to Hill’s rear bumper before the caution, settled in second. Creed, Sanchez, Mayer, Herbst, Love, Day, Jones and Gray completed the top 10.

During the stage break, the field led by Hill returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Hill exited pit road first. He was followed by Creed, Allgaier, Sanchez and Love, respectively. Amid the pit stops, Sawalich was sent to the rear of the field due to an uncontrolled tire violation.

Xfinity Series at Texas – Final Stage

With 103 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Hill and Allgaier occupied the front row. At the start, however, the caution returned. Contact between Gray, Herbst, Day and Mayer jumbled up the field, starting from the sixth position. It resulted in Josh Williams driving through the grass and getting turned head-on into the frontstretch’s outside wall by Alfredo. The incident ignited a chain reaction as Garrett Smithley, Katherine Legge, Mason Massey, Carson Kvapil, Parker Retzlaff, Nick Leitz, and Blaine Perkins all wrecked.

The start of the following restart with 97 laps remaining did not last long when Creed, who restarted in the second row and was racing in fourth place through the first two turns, made contact with Day that sent Creed up into Love as the latter hit the backstretch’s outside wall. Meanwhile, Creed spun to the bottom of the backstretch and hit the inside wall on the driver’s left side, which terminated his race. Amid the incident, Allgaier maintained the lead over Hill.

As the event restarted under green with 88 laps remaining, Allgaier muscled ahead of Hill to retain the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. Behind, Sanchez overtook Hill for the runner-up spot and Larson maintained fourth place in front of Jones, Harrison Burton and Ryan Sieg as Allgaier led the following lap. Over the next seven laps, Larson would overtake Hill for third place while Jones maintained fifth place over Ryan Sieg, cousins Harrison and Jeb Burton, and Leland Honeyman. Meanwhile, Allgaier extended his lead to more than a second over Sanchez with 80 laps remaining.

Down to the final 75 laps of the event, Allgaier continued to lead by more than a second over teammate Larson as the latter assumed the runner-up spot from Sanchez two laps earlier. As Sanchez trailed by more than two seconds in third place, Hill and Jones were racing in the top five ahead of Ryan Sieg, Harrison Burton, Sawalich, Jeb Burton and DiBenedetto while Herbst, Day, Honeyman, Dye and Parker Retzlaff were mired in the top 15.

Fifteen laps later, Larson, who spent the last several laps reeling in on Allgaier’s advantage, trailed the latter by four-tenths of a second while third-place Sanchez trailed by nearly three seconds. Behind, fourth-place Hill trailed by five seconds while fifth-place Jones trailed by more than 11 seconds.

A few laps later, a late cycle of green flag pit stops ensued. Herbst pitted his No. 19 Monster Energy Toyota Supra entry. Teammate Sawalich would also pit a few laps after Herbst. Allgaier, who nearly got hit by Larson as Larson slid up the track through Turns 3 and 4, led by six-tenths of a second with less than 55 laps remaining. Cousins Jeb and Harrison Burton along with Ryan Sieg, Love, and DiBenedetto pitted their respective entries within the final 50-lap mark. Larson and Sanchez pitted with 49 laps remaining. Hill, Jones and Day then pitted within 48 laps remaining before Allgaier shortly after.

Amid the pit stops with 45 laps remaining, the caution flew. Allgaier, who was overtaken by Larson following his green flag pit stop and was trailing his JR Motorsports teammate by a distance, ran into the lapped competitor of Kris Wright entering the frontstretch. The bump resulted in Wright spinning through the frontstretch’s grass. Allgaier slid and hit the outside wall, which terminated his race. Mayer, who had yet to pit, was leading ahead of Dye, Gray, Clements and Sammy Smith while Larson was back in seventh. During the caution period, Mayer led a group of competitors that had yet to pit. The rest led by Larson remained on the track.

Final Laps at Texas

Down to the final 37 laps, the event restarted under green. Larson rocketed his No. 88 Blues Hog Chevrolet Camaro entry ahead of the field through the frontstretch and the first two turns. While Sanchez and Hill dueled for the runner-up spot, Larson muscled away and grew his lead to nearly a second with 35 laps remaining.

With 30 laps remaining, Larson was out in front by two seconds over Sanchez who was ahead of Hill. Behind, Gray and Jones occupied the top five spots. Dye, Mayer, Ryan Sieg, Sammy Smith, Clements, Poole, Alfredo, Harrison Burton, Love and Herbst trailed in the top 15.

Ten laps later, Larson extended his lead to more than five seconds over both Sanchez and Hill who were duking against one another for the runner-up spot. Gray and Mayer trailed in the top five. Larson proceeded to lead by five seconds with 15 laps remaining. Sanchez maintained the runner-up spot by a tenth of a second over a hard-charging Hill.

Then with 13 laps remaining, the caution flew when Day spun and hit the tire barriers in Turns 3 and 4. The caution erased Larson’s advantage of nearly six seconds he had over both Hill and Sanchez as Hill had assumed the runner-up spot from Sanchez earlier. During the caution period, some led by Larson pitted while the rest that included Hill, Sanchez, Gray, Mayer, Love and Alfredo remained on the track as Hill assumed the lead.

The start of the next restart with seven laps remaining featured Mayer retaining the lead. Larson, who restarted in the top 10, utilized aggressive driving to carve his way back to the front. During the following lap, Larson gained huge ground on both Hill and Sanchez for the runner-up spot. But he was boxed behind Sanchez’s No. 48 Borchetta Bourbon Chevrolet Camaro entry entering the backstretch. Larson then transitioned to the inside lane and got beneath Sanchez, battling for the runner-up spot as Mayer continued to lead.

Then with five laps remaining, the caution was displayed. Hill, who was battling Sammy Smith for fourth place, slid up the track and hit Smith resulting in Smith veering back into the frontstretch’s outside wall. Smith’s incident was enough to send the event into overtime.

Overtime

The start of the first overtime attempt did not last long. Clements spun and rear-ended his No. 51 First Pacific Funding Chevrolet Camaro entry into the outside wall in Turn 2. At the moment of caution, Mayer was still leading over Larson, Sanchez, Gray and Hill. The event was sent into a second overtime attempt.

The start of the second overtime attempt featured Mayer and Larson dueling for the lead through the first two turns and in front of two stacked lanes before Larson used both the outside lane and the four fresh tires to his advantage by boosting ahead of Mayer entering the backstretch. As Larson led, Mayer, who briefly lost momentum, dueled with Gray for the runner-up spot while Sanchez drifted up the track and hit the outside wall. Amid Sanchez’s incident that caused Sanchez to slowly drift out from racing upfront, the field fanned out and the event remained under green.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Larson remained in the lead by four-tenths of a second over a battle between Gray and Mayer for the runner-up spot. Through the first two turns, Mayer would slightly slide up the track, which allowed Gray to take sole possession of the runner-up spot as both Herbst and Hill overtook Mayer. With the latter four losing ground of the lead in the process, Larson was able to muscle away from the field for half a lap and cruise back to the frontstretch and take the victory by more than a second over Gray.

Victory

With the victory, Larson, who had Connor Zilisch watching from the No. 88 pit box, notched his 17th career win in the Xfinity Series division, his first at Texas since November 2016 and his second driving the No. 88 Chevrolet entry for JR Motorsports. The victory was also Larson’s second of the 2025 Xfinity season after he won at Bristol Motor Speedway in early April.

Larson’s Texas victory also marked the 10th of the year for the Chevrolet nameplate, the fifth for JR Motorsports and the second for the organization’s No. 88 Chevrolet team led by crew chief Mardy Lindley.

“There was a lot of survival I felt like throughout that race,” Larson said on the frontstretch on the CW Network. “Just dodging some wrecks. Balance, we had to work on quite a bit, so it was fun. I felt like my car though, if I could ever get to the lead, I could stretch out. I just couldn’t get by Justin [Allgaier]. He was doing a good job of just running where I needed to be. Thanks to [JR Motorsports] for letting me come run this [No. 88 Chevrolet] here today. [I] Wish Connor [Zilisch] was in the car, but [it] means a lot that [JR Motorsports] thought of me to call up to run this thing. [I] Had a lot of fun today and cool to get another win here.”

Taylor Gray, who started in 12th place, made a late charge to notch a career-best runner-up result while Riley Herbst finished in third place in his second Xfinity start of the 2025 season. Austin Hill, who led 57 laps, finished in fourth place while Sam Mayer, who led 18 laps, fell back to fifth place.

Harrison Burton, Jesse Love, Ryan Sieg, Brandon Jones and Jeb Burton completed the top 10 in the final running order.

Meanwhile, Nick Sanchez, who led a single lap and was poised for a strong result, drifted back to 20th place following his second overtime contact into the backstretch’s outside wall. Despite settling with his sixth finish of 20th or worse of his first full-time Xfinity campaign, Sanchez focused on the positives of being competitive and racing up front.

“[I take] A lot of positives, right?” Sanchez said. “We were legitimately a top-three car all day, from Stage 1 to the end of the race. Pretty disappointed. [I was] Just going for it, right? It’s what you got to do at the end of these races. Obviously, I pushed over the edge and paid the price, but really proud of my team for giving me a fast car and we’ll just keep bringing fast cars to the racetrack and one day, it’ll all come towards us.”

Daniel Dye, Anthony Alfredo, William Sawalich, Parker Retzlaff and Matt DiBenedeto settled in the top 15 while Corey Day, Brennan Poole, Sammy Smith, Carson Kvapil and Sanchez rounded out the top 20.

There were 12 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured 11 cautions for 62 laps. In addition, 20 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

Following the 12th event of the 2025 Xfinity Series season, Justin Allgaier leads the regular-season standings by 51 points over Austin Hill, 80 over Sam Mayer, 97 over Jesse Love and 145 over Brandon Jones.

Results:

1. Kyle Larson, 32 laps led

2. Taylor Gray

3. Riley Herbst

4. Austin Hill, 57 laps led, Stage 1 winner

5. Sam Mayer, 18 laps led

6. Harrison Burton

7. Jesse Love

8. Ryan Sieg

9. Brandon Jones

10. Jeb Burton

11. Daniel Dye, one lap led

12. Anthony Alfredo

13. William Sawalich

14. Parker Retzlaff

15. Matt DiBenedetto

16. Corey Day

17. Brennan Poole

18. Sammy Smith

19. Carson Kvapil

20. Nick Sanchez, one lap led

21. Mason Massey, one lap down

22. Kyle Sieg, one lap down

23. Ryan Ellis, one lap down

24. Blaine Perkins, one lap down

25. Joey Gase, one lap down

26. Mason Maggio, one lap down

27. Dean Thompson, three laps down

28. Josh Bilicki, three laps down

29. Nick Leitz, four laps down

30. Garrett Smithley, seven laps down

31. Jeremy Clements – OUT, Accident

32. Katherine Legge, eight laps down

33. Kris Wright, nine laps down

34. Leland Honeyman – OUT, Vibration

35. Justin Allgaier – OUT, Accident, 99 laps led, Stage 1 winner

36. Sheldon Creed – OUT, Accident

37. Josh Williams – OUT, Accident

38. Christian Eckes – OUT, Engine

The NASCAR Xfinity Series’ teams and competitors will be taking a two-week break period before returning to action at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, for the BetMGM 300. The event is scheduled for May 24 and will air at 4:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network.