“I want to embarrass them,” said Kyle Larson, referring to what motivates him to perform at his peak in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. ‘Yung Money’ is two for three in the sports’ second tier this year, but he could have easily been undefeated. He narrowly missed out on Victory Lane at Homestead-Miami after a botched late restart, making amends at Bristol by dominating the second half of the 2025 SciAps 300. This time, the 32-year-old proved to be a man of his word by claiming his second Xfinity win, subbing for another ‘generational talent’.

JR Motorsports couldn’t have asked for a better replacement for Connor Zilisch. The 18-year-old was sidelined because of a precautionary measure after enduring hard hits at Talladega last weekend. The only job he had today was to watch the 2021 Cup Series champ in his element, leading the #88 team in the victory lane.

Connor Zilisch is full of praise for Larson

Kyle Larson got an unexpected call during the midweek. He was asked to sub in for Zilisch in the JR Motorsports’ No. 88 Chevy for the Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 at Texas Motor Speedway. The youngster suffered a lower back injury at Talladega Superspeedway after he unexpectedly spun on the final lap, and while he was cleared to race, JR Motorsports decided to have him sit out the race as a precautionary measure ahead of a two-week Xfinity Series break.

As a result, Connor Zilisch watched from the sidelines as Kyle Larson produced an absolute masterclass, especially late in the race. He only led 32 of 208 laps, and it was enough for him to beat Taylor Gray to the checkered flag by 1.265 seconds. Speaking after the race, the 18-year-old said, “Yeah, no, it’s great to see the team in Victory Lane. You know, I think coming into the weekend, it was almost the expectation with Kyle driving the car. He’s so talented. You know, it’s great for our team.” Zilisch went on to say, “Like I said, he’s super talented and nothing but the utmost respect for him and how good he is.”

Late in the race, crew chief Mardy Lindley made a race-changing decision. He radioed to Larson, “We’ve got to stop to win.” That’s exactly what the California native ended up doing, making a late pit stop that proved to be instrumental in securing his second Texas win and 17th of his career. The 2021 Cup Series winner had a point to prove, as he told Kevin Harvick earlier this year, “I want to embarrass NASCAR a little bit because they just don’t let [Cup Series] guys run anymore, and the kids they probably think they’re in a good spot, and they don’t know where the bar is really at.”

While Kyle Larson didn’t quite get the “10-second lead” he was hoping for, the racer did manage to mount an impressive charge from seventh place on a Lap 194 restart, behind six cars that stayed out on older tires to secure a win in double-overtime. Just watching the Hendrick Motorsports driver defy odds to enter Victory Lane in Texas was an ‘educational’ experience for Zilisch, who couldn’t help but say, “Learned a lot listening to him today, and hopefully one day I’ll be able to race against him toe-to-toe.”

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Kyle Larson thanks JR Motorsports for the Texas opportunity

The HMS star driver had a real battle on his hands at Andy’s Frozen Custard 300. On Lap 188, he had built a lead of more than six seconds when Corey Day hit the tire barrier on the inside of Turn 3, which resulted in the ninth (out of 11) caution. That’s when Larson went into the pits and climbed up to second on the first overtime restart, eventually taking the lead from defending race winner Sam Mayer in the second overtime to secure the triumph.

Reflecting on the outcome in the post-race interview, Larson said, “It was a lot of survival, I felt like in that race. I got in some wrecks, the balance we had to work on quite a bit. So, it was fun. I felt like if I could ever get the lead, I could stretch it out, but I couldn’t get by Justin (Allgaier). He was running where I needed to be. Thanks to JRM for letting me come run this thing here today. Obviously, I wish Connor was in the car, but it means a lot that they thought of me to call up to run this thing.”

While Kyle Larson didn’t manage to “embarrass” Xfinity Series drivers this time around, he did prove that there is a visible gap between competing in NASCAR’s second tier and the highest level. Zilisch, who is one of the sport’s most promising talents, is well on his way to competing against the heavyweights sooner rather than later. Learning from a versatile driver like Larson will only improve the 18-year-old’s race craft, and it’s well within the realm of possibility that he could be stock car racing’s next big thing in the foreseeable future.