Larson Surprised He Held Off Allgaier For Texas O'Reilly Series Win

Anytime Kyle Larson dips down to the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series ranks, the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion is expected to contend for the race win. In Saturday's O'Reilly Series Andy's Frozen Custard 340 at Texas Motor Speedway, Larson led a race-high 93 laps, but felt he felt like he had no shot at crossing the finish line first.

Larson, who had spent the entirety of the day fighting for every inch of real-estate (even under caution) with Justin Allgaier, knew Allgaier had a car capable of winning the race, and he felt it was just a matter of time before Allgaier found a way around him in the closing laps of the race.

However, it never happened. Allgaier tried, but couldn't work his way around for the race win, much to the surprise of Larson.

“Well, I really didn’t think I had a chance there with Justin behind me,” Larson admitted in his victory interview on The CW. “He was really good. And catching me there on that long run after the green flag stop, and just hoped in clean air, I could kind of stretch away like I did the run before to start Stage 3. Yeah, I don’t know, he was really good behind me.”

Larson credited Allgaier, who endured a shoving match under caution earlier in the race with him, for keeping things clean in the closing laps of Saturday's race. Had Allgaier chosen to cross the line, Larson very well could have lost.

“Thanks to him for racing me clean, there. He could have easily gotten into the back of me,” Larson explained. “I could tell he was trying to pack some air to get me free.”

Once the disappointment of losing Saturday's race subsides, Allgaier will likely crack a smile at the fact that he continued extending his O'Reilly Series points lead over Sheldon Creed with his runner-up finish. Allgaier now holds a 121-point advantage over Creed with 12 races remaining until the Chase, NASCAR's version of the Playoffs, begins.

But all Allgaier had time to think about after Saturday's race at Texas was how his fourth win of the season slipped through his grasp.

“I’m just disappointed. Our Roto-Rooter Chevrolet was really good. Huge thank you to [Crew Chief] Andrew [Overstreet] and all the guys on the 7 team. To bring as fast a car as we had today, you know, it’s special,” Allgaier said.

Allgaier said while he obviously had the faster car in the closing laps, he simply couldn't find a line that would allow him to keep up enough momentum to get around Larson unless he was willing to initiate contact to steal the win. He wasn't willing to do that.

Sam Mayer was able to snag a season-best third-place finish, which was a massive deal for the driver of the No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet, as he came into the day outside the Chase cutline. With the third-place finish, he is now the final driver inside the 12-driver Chase Grid, and he holds an eight-point advantage over Ryan Sieg for that final slot.

18-year-old Brent Crews, who missed races earlier in the season due to not being old enough to compete, came home with another impressive finish on Saturday, as he ended the day in fourth. Crews has now clawed himself to within 12 points of being inside the top-12 of the O'Reilly Series championship standings.

Parker Retzlaff, who continues to pile on impressive runs for Viking Motorsports this season, nabbed a fifth-place run on Saturday.

Sheldon Creed, Austin Hill, Brandon Jones, Jesse Love, and Jeremy Clements capped off the top-10 finishers in the race.

The Andy's 340 was a treacherous affair, and the calamity started on the opening lap of the race as William Sawalich, Carson Kvapil, and Taylor Gray collided with each other, while Corey Day also piled into the outside wall in a separate incident.

That didn't take long.

Trouble for Corey Day, William Sawalich and Taylor Gray on lap 1 at Texas. pic.twitter.com/9dPiLbNrn1
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) May 2, 2026

While Sawalich, Kvapil, and Gray soldiered on, Day's race was over on the opening lap of the event.

Saturday's race was so chaotic that not even the pace car driver was safe.

Seriously, the pace car nearly got into an accident as Mason Maggio attempted to turn around and blend back onto the racing surface after a spin. With safety trucks in the way, Maggio couldn't see the pace car approaching, and the pace car had to make an evasive move to get around him.

Good thing the pace car driver is a wheelman 😅 pic.twitter.com/LPgc1PYXeJ
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) May 2, 2026

Andy's Frozen Custard 340 Race Results

1. 88-Kyle Larson
2. 7-Justin Allgaier
3. 41-Sam Mayer
4. 19-Brent Crews
5. 99-Parker Retzlaff
6. 00-Sheldon Creed
7. 21-Austin Hill
8. 20-Brandon Jones
9. 2-Jesse Love
10. 51-Jeremy Clements
11. 9-Carson Kvapil
12. 96-Anthony Alfredo
13. 8-Sammy Smith
14. 39-Ryan Sieg
15. 18-William Sawalich
16. 26-Dean Thompson
17. 48-Patrick Staropoli
18. 92-Josh Williams
19. 45-Lavar Scott
20. 44-Brennan Poole
21. 1-Connor Zilisch, -1 lap
22. 24-Harrison Burton, -1 lap
23. 3-Austin Dillon, -1 lap
24. 02-Ryan Ellis, -1 lap
25. 31-Blaine Perkins, -1 lap
26. 27-Jeb Burton, -1 lap
27. 07-Josh Bilicki, -2 laps
28. 55-Joey Gase, -2 laps
29. 53-David Starr, -3 laps
30. 28-Kyle Sieg, -4 laps
31. 0-Garrett Smithley, -6 laps
32. 91-Mason Maggio, -11 laps
33. 54-Taylor Gray, -12 laps
34. 32-Rajah Caruth, Out
35. 87-Austin Green, Out
36. 42-Brad Perez, Out
37. 17-Corey Day, Out
38. 35-Dawson Cram, Out

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