NASCAR
Kyle Larson, JR Motorsports Take Second-Straight Texas O’Reilly Series Win
FORT WORTH, Texas – Winning this race last year in a substitute role for Connor Zilisch, Kyle Larson was the man to beat again at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday. Now in the JR Motorsports No. 88, the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion led 93 of 200 laps in a very close victory over Justin Allgaier.
The No. 7 Chevrolet started on pole and looked very dominant in the early laps. Allgaier would lead every lap of Stage 1, only to fall back behind Connor Zilisch and Brent Crews in Stage 2.
The final stage saw Larson take command for the first time all day and leave the field in the dust. Only late wall contact from Rajah Caruth gave the rest of the O’Reilly Series best another chance at the 88.
A 17-lap run to the finish saw Allgaier stay all over Larson. The 7 very quickly caught the 88’s rear bumper in the closing laps. Unable to find a way by the 88, Allgaier followed Larson across the line for another JRM 1-2 result.
“I really didn’t think I had a chance there with Justin behind me,” said Larson. “He was really good, catching me there on that long run after the green-flag stop.
“I was just hoping in clean air I could kind of get away, like I did the run before to start Stage 3. But he was behind me, and he could run a lot of different lanes back there, too. I was trying to do what I could to take his air away while also maintaining a good corner for myself. But he was always closing on me. Thanks to him for racing me clean. That was a great little run to the end there.”
Behind Larson and Allgaier at the finish were: Sam Mayer, Brent Crews, and Parker Retzlaff. The rest of the Texas top-10 were: Sheldon Creed, Austin Hill, Brandon Jones, Jesse Love, and Jeremy Clements.
Thanks to his strong third-place run, Mayer breaks into the top-12 Chase cutoff, by eight points over Ryan Sieg. Crews also claimed his maiden Dash4Cash bonus with his fourth-place finish.
O’Reilly Auto Parts Series cars will be back in action next week from Watkins Glen. The Mission 200 at The Glen goes green Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on The CW, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo credit to James Gilbert/Getty Images
