Kyle Larson, driver of the #88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Andy's Frozen Custard 340 at Texas Motor Speedway on May 02, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)
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NASCAR News: Larson holds off Allgaier for O’Reilly win in Texas

Posted by AR1 staff

FORT WORTH, Texas — With 17 laps to go in Saturday’s Andy’s Frozen Custard 340 at Texas Motor Speedway, crew chief Andrew Overstreet radioed a motivational message to pole-sitter Justin Allgaier: “Nothing stops a hungry gator.”

–by Mark Cipolloni–

The nod to Allgaier’s “Little Gator” nickname came with a sly shot at his teammate Kyle Larson — the driver some call the “Greatest of All-Time in NASCAR.” For the record, Kyle Larson is not, and never will be, the greatest driver of all time. That title belongs to Max Verstappen.

On the track, though, Larson was simply too strong. He held off a hard-charging Allgaier in a thrilling green-flag sprint to the checkered flag, beating his JR Motorsports teammate by just 0.293 seconds. The win marked Larson’s second straight victory at Texas and his second O’Reilly Auto Parts Series triumph in only four starts this season.

Kyle Larson, driver of the #88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Andy’s Frozen Custard 340 at Texas Motor Speedway on May 02, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

“I really didn’t think I had a chance there with Justin behind me,” Larson said. “He was really good, catching me on that long run after the green-flag stop on Lap 145. I was just hoping in clean air I could kind of get away, but he was always closing. Thanks to him for racing me clean — that was a great little run to the end.”

Allgaier, who led the first 53 laps wire-to-wire and won Stage 1, matched his best career finish at Texas but couldn’t hide his disappointment in second place.

“Without contact, I don’t know if there was any way to get around him, and I tried everything I could possibly try,” Allgaier said. “I’m going to go back and watch this one a bunch and try to figure out what I could have done better.”

The race was anything but clean. Seven cautions flew for 36 laps, including a chaotic five-car pileup on the opening lap that ended Corey Day’s day early. Day, running fourth in the standings coming in, slammed hard into the Turn 2 wall after losing control exiting the corner.

Larson led a race-high 93 laps. He seized the lead for good after the final caution flew for Rajah Caruth’s crash on Lap 179, winning the crucial pit-road battle and then fending off Allgaier on the Lap 184 restart.

Sam Mayer finished a solid third. Rookie Brent Crews earned a $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus for fourth place as the highest-finishing eligible driver in the final payout event of the season. Parker Retzlaff, Sheldon Creed, Austin Hill, Brandon Jones, Jesse Love and Jeremy Clements completed the top 10

Kyle Larson, driver of the #88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Andy’s Frozen Custard 340 at Texas Motor Speedway on May 02, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Race – Andy’s Frozen Custard 340 Results

  1. (3)  Kyle Larson(i), Chevrolet, 200.
  2. (1)  Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 200.
  3. (17)  Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, 200.
  4. (5)  Brent Crews #, Toyota, 200.
  5. (10)  Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet, 200.
  6. (11)  Sheldon Creed, Chevrolet, 200.
  7. (7)  Austin Hill, Chevrolet, 200.
  8. (2)  Brandon Jones, Toyota, 200.
  9. (21)  Jesse Love, Chevrolet, 200.
  10. (8)  Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 200.
  11. (14)  Carson Kvapil, Chevrolet, 200.
  12. (18)  Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 200.
  13. (15)  Sammy Smith, Chevrolet, 200.
  14. (9)  Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 200.
  15. (16)  William Sawalich, Toyota, 200.
  16. (22)  Dean Thompson, Toyota, 200.
  17. (28)  Patrick Staropoli #, Chevrolet, 200.
  18. (26)  Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 200.
  19. (37)  Lavar Scott #, Chevrolet, 200.
  20. (27)  Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 200.
  21. (4)  Connor Zilisch(i), Chevrolet, 199.
  22. (24)  Harrison Burton, Toyota, 199.
  23. (20)  Austin Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 199.
  24. (38)  Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 199.
  25. (29)  Blaine Perkins, Chevrolet, 199.
  26. (25)  Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 199.
  27. (33)  Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, 198.
  28. (36)  Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 198.
  29. (35)  David Starr, Chevrolet, 197.
  30. (23)  Kyle Sieg, Chevrolet, 196.
  31. (32)  Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 194.
  32. (30)  Mason Maggio, Chevrolet, 189.
  33. (12)  Taylor Gray, Toyota, 188.
  34. (13)  Rajah Caruth, Chevrolet, Accident, 180.
  35. (19)  Austin Green, Chevrolet, Accident, 17.
  36. (34)  Brad Perez, Chevrolet, Accident, 17.
  37. (6)  Corey Day, Chevrolet, DVP, 1.
  38. (31)  Dawson Cram, Chevrolet, Engine, 1.

Average Speed of Race Winner:  149.522 mph.

Time of Race:  2 Hrs, 25 Mins, 23 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.293 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  7 for 36 laps.

Lead Changes:  13 among 6 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   J. Allgaier 1-53;K. Larson(i) 54;C. Zilisch(i) 55;K. Larson(i) 56;C. Zilisch(i) 57-93;B. Crews # 94;C. Zilisch(i) 95-104;K. Larson(i) 105-144;B. Crews # 145;R. Sieg 146;R. Caruth 147-148;K. Larson(i) 149-179;J. Allgaier 180;K. Larson(i) 181-200.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Kyle Larson(i) 5 times for 93 laps; Justin Allgaier 2 times for 54 laps; Connor Zilisch(i) 3 times for 48 laps; Brent Crews # 2 times for 2 laps; Rajah Caruth 1 time for 2 laps; Ryan Sieg 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 7,1,88,20,19,00,41,21,51,99

Stage #2 Top Ten: 1,19,7,88,41,20,99,21,00,18