Kyle Larson wins thrilling NASCAR O'Reilly Series race at Texas

JR Motorsports driver Kyle Larson (88) celebrates in victory lane after he wins the 2026 Andy's Frozen Custard 340 at Texas Motor Speedway. Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Kyle Larson holds off Justin Allgaier to win thrilling NASCAR O'Reilly Series race at Texas

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated May 2, 2026 6:18 PM ET

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In an exhilarating battle and magnificent display of racing between two of NASCAR's best, Kyle Larson held off Justin Allgaier in the closing laps to win Saturday's NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Andy's Frozen Custard 340 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Larson opened up a lead after the race's final restart with less than 20 laps to go, but Allgaier mounted a furious charge and was on Larson's bumper throughout the final 10 laps.

However, Allgaier was unable to get a good enough run to make the winning move, with Larson holding him off to earn his 19th career O'Reilly Series win and his second of 2026.

"I really didn't think I had a chance there with Justin behind me," Larson told CW Sports. "He was really good and catching me there on that long run after the green flag stop. He was just really good behind me and could run a lot of different lanes back there."

BACK TO BACK!@KyleLarsonRacin holds off a charge from Justin Allgaier to win at Texas for the second straight season. pic.twitter.com/kj5XwTtvf3
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) May 2, 2026

"He was always closing on me. Thanks to him for racing me clean there. That was a great little run to the end there."

Larson and Allgaier had previously traded paint early in the race under caution. The win is the second in a row in the O'Reilly Series competition for Larson.

Allgaier, Sam Mayer, Brent Crews and Parker Retzlaff rounded out the top five, with Sheldon Creed, Austin Hill, Brandon Jones, Jesse Love and Jeremy Clements completing the top 10.

Crews won the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus over Creed.

Notable results

Other notable finishers include Carson Kvapil in 11th, Sammy Smith in 13th, Connor Zilisch in 21st, Austin Dillon in 23rd and Rajah Caruth in 34th. Zilisch led laps in Saturday's race but faded in Stage 3 before suffering a flat tire.

Saturday's race featured three cautions within the first 20 laps but only two for cause over the final 180.

Allgaier leads Creed by 121 points in the series standings through 12 races. The 2024 series champion has nine top fives and 10 top 10s so far in 2026.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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