What’s Happening?

After an eventful Truck Series race on Friday night, it was time for the stars of tomorrow in the NASCAR Xfinity Series to show the world what they could do. That’s right! On Saturday afternoon, the Xfinity boys and girls went down south to the Lone Star State for our annual one-stop at Texas Motor Speedway. There were many storylines to follow heading into today’s race. Could Austin Hill keep up his recent momentum? What about his teammate Jesse Love? Or would it be defending series champion, Justin Allgaier, sporting the black cowboy hat and revolvers in victory lane? He led the third most (and counting) laps at the track in Xfinity Series history but had zero wins to date? Did all that change today?

Let’s break it down. Here are the 3 biggest takeaways from the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Things to Note

• Qualifying on Saturday was washed out. Therefore, the starting line-up was set per the NASCAR Rule Book. This put Justin Allgaier in the pole position with drivers like Austin Hill, Jesse Love, and Brandon Jones breathing down his neck. Justin Allgaier is third on the list of all-time Xfinity Series lap leaders at Texas Motor Speedway. He was looking to add to that lap count here today.
• One key storyline heading into today’s race was the absence of Connor Zilisch. Last week at Talladega, Zilisch suffered a vicious crash on the backstretch of the super speedway on the final lap after being turned by Jesse Love. Instantly upon impact, Zilisch complained about back pain. After being checked out by a doctor through the week, it was determined that he would step out of the car this weekend at Texas to take time to heal. Taking his place was the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, Kyle Larson.
• Richard Childress Racing has been hot in recent weeks. Love dominated Rockingham prior to being disqualified, handing the win to Sammy Smith. Jesse Love also had the best car last week at ‘Dega before his teammate Hill ultimately prevailed. They were looking to capitalize on their shared momentum here today.

Kyle Larson Overcomes the Chaos

Kyle Larson had a fast hot rod all day long. He started in the 20th position due to qualifying being rained out yesterday. However, he was able to quickly work his way up to the second position. He didn’t have the fastest car of the day but was able to capitalize on the misfortunes of Justin Allgaier to handily win today’s race. That’s not to say that he didn’t make in interesting, though. As his protege Corey Day brought out a late-race caution, the 88 crew opted to pit. He was able to win the race off pit road but six cars stayed out. This meant that Larson restarted in the 7th position. For the restart, Larson selected to fire off on the outside of the seventh row.

It took 2 overtime restarts for Larson to clear second place but he ultimately did. Finishing runner-up to Larson was Taylor Gray in the JGR number 54. This was his best career finish. Sneaking into the 3rd position was his JGR teammate, Riley Herbst. This marked Larson’s second Xfinity Series win this year. He dominated Darlington this year before losing out to Justin Allgaier. Then, of course, he “embarrassed” the field at Bristol this spring. It was JR Motorsports 5th win this season.

Larson Was Looking to Embarrass Series Regulars

The last time Kyle Larson was in a NASCAR Xfinity Series race, he spanked the field. He led well over 250 of the 300 laps at Bristol Motor Speedway and, after getting out of the car, he told reporters that his goal was to embarrass the field. Needless to say, he did just that, providing them with a measuring stick to which they could compare their talents. Initially, Larson wasn’t scheduled to run this race here today. Bristol was supposed to be his last Xfinity start of the season. However, Zilisch’s unforeseen back injury at Talladega put him in the mix as a substitute driver. He had much of the same mindset here today: he wanted to embarrass the series regulars.

Though he wasn’t nearly as dominant today as he was at Bristol, his number 88 JRM Chevy clearly had pace. Due to qualifying being rained out, he started in the 20th position. However, he started his march to the front early, working his way all the way up to the second-place position and making it look effortless.

During the stage break, Larson came down pit road in P2, but the team was penalized for an uncontrolled tire. This put him in the back to start Stage 2.

Restarting in 32nd, Larson didn’t slice and dice through the field like he did in the opening stage. He made progress and still clearly had a fast car but was unable to crack into the top 10. He ended the second stage in 11th. During the stage break, he pitted and came off pit road in 10th.

In the final stage, Larson was able to work his way up to the 3rd position in only a handful of laps.

As the stage went on, Larson was able to pass Nick Sanchez for 2nd and then set his sights on leader Justin Allgaier. He was able to reel in the number 7 and get alongside him. However, Larson, pushing the number 88 to the limits, got wicked loose under his teammate and had to back off. He settled back into the second position. Following that wild ride, it was time for green flag pit stops. Larson pitted with 50 laps to go.

Allgaier and Hill Championship Favorites?

Due to qualifying on Friday being cancelled, Justin Allgaier started today’s race from the pole position. And, predictably, he went on to dominate the opening stage, crossing the over 500 laps led mark on the all-time lap leaders list for the track. He’s third on that list behind Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick. Insanely, despite his Texas dominance, he never won at the track in the past.

When looking at the Xfinity Series as a whole, two drivers have stood out amongst the rest. The first of them is defending series champ, Justin Allgaier. He currently leads the points (79 points ahead of second place) and has 2 race wins and 3 stage wins to his credit. At this point in the season, it certainly looks like Allgaier is a favorite to make it all the way to the Championship 4 in November and possibly repeat as champion. That number 7 JRM Chevy has pace and is consistently in the mix to win races.

The stars on pit road were the pit crew of the number 21 RCR Chevy. They gave him the fastest stops of the day, which put him in the lead to start Stage 2. That track position proved to be invaluable as he went on to dominate the second stage as it appeared that his only real competition was Allgaier in the 7. However, Austin Hill was able to ride on his momentum from last week’s win at Talladega to capture the stage victory. He earned the second-most stage points on the day behind Allgaier.

On the year, Austin Hill is currently second in the Xfinity Series points standings. He has 3 wins currently and 5 stage victories. On intermediates and superspeedways, he’s almost unstoppable and a clear early championship favorite.

If Justin Allgaier had any luck, it would be bad luck. After green flag pit stops, Allgaier was chasing down the ailed car of Kris Wright, who was way off the pace. Coming out of Turn 4, Wright changed lanes, causing contact with Allgaier. Losing control, Allgaier stuck the outside wall, breaking the front end of the car. This ultimately ended his day. He led a total of 99 laps, a race high.

The Frontstretch Grass Is Treacherous

There were a number of incidents today in which a driver got into the patch of grass on the frontstretch which led to a larger incident. The biggest one of the day came at the start of the final stage. As you can see in the clip below provided by the CW Sports, the outside line pinched the inside line into the grass, causing a big stack up and their cars to get out of shape.

Riley Herbst (making his second start of the year in the JGR number 19) drove in low on the dog leg, forcing Sam Mayer in the number 41 Haas Factory Ford into the rough. Mayer then overcorrected and got into the 54 of Taylor Gray, causing a tire rub. Meanwhile, a few rows back, Josh Williams and Anthony Alfredo got together. Williams hit outside SAFER barrier, ending his day. Check it out.

Conclusion

That does it for us, Daily Downforce readers. What did you make of that wild race? Are you happy with Larson’s victory? Are you heartbroken for Justin Allgaier? Let us know! And be sure to tune back in here at DailyDownforce.com for our coverage of the Cup Series’ annual stop in the Lone Star State!