“Now he’s in our car and, well…” Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s pre-race comments in Texas had the hint of seeking revenge. The JR Motorsports team owner did not appreciate it when Kyle Larson said he wanted to “embarrass” the Xfinity Series field after winning in Bristol. In fact, Dale Jr. threw a challenge to the 2021 Cup Series champion that his drivers may race him “differently.” However, the Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 unfolded like any other as Larson paved his golden path.

The Hendrick Motorsports star assumed subbing duties at Texas Motor Speedway, replacing Connor Zilisch in the No. 88 Chevrolet, as the latter incurred a lower back injury in Talladega. But while Larson showed his generosity in subbing, his new teammates also showed the same.

Kyle Larson navigated through rubble

The Texas Xfinity race featured 11 cautions and a double overtime, with most of the wrecks appearing late. Kyle Larson had a healthy battle with Justin Allgaier, the race leader, except for a sketchy moment in stage 3 when the two almost crashed while racing for the lead. Allgaier stayed out in heavy traffic, and that allowed Larson to leapfrog to the lead.

The No. 7 JRM driver waited for a caution, and he got it – but sadly, Allgaier was himself involved in it. Larson subsequently could make the most of his run, although a string of crashes hindered his path in the end. So after taking the trophy in Texas, the HMS star said that there was no “different” vibe from Dale Jr.’s drivers – after all, most of them were involved in wrecks.

In a post-race press conference, a journalist was curious about how Kyle Larson felt about getting back at Dale Jr’s comments in his own team’s car. However, the HMS driver confessed his respect for JRM, as no hint of revenge appeared. He said, “I didn’t feel like I was raced any differently.” Despite a slew of wrecks, Larson stayed out of trouble, and it was actually his car that caused him the most problems in stage 2.

Larson detailed his own imperfect situation. “We were able to have a good car and pick our way to the front. And got to the front a lot quicker in the first stage than I thought I would. Then my balance felt really tight. So, I think we made a big adjustment to free me up, and then I was loose, and not very good in that run, just hanging on to get to the end of that stage. But yeah, thankfully, we kind of had both ends of the spectrum there…and made a good adjustment for the third stage to be really competitive.” 

Earlier this season, Sam Mayer had notoriously wrecked Kyle Larson‘s Homestead-Miami chances with his aggressive moves by shoving him on a late race restart. But in Texas, he was noted for his clean racing. Both he and Carson Kvapil focused on overcoming a late-race wreck and on-track incidents. Meanwhile, JRM’s #7 Justin Allgaier was the one who sped away and claimed that win at Homestead Miami when Larson was spun. So, for Larson to get one back by winning the race after Allgaier was caught up in a caution felt like retribution, but he maintained that the #7 raced incredibly on Saturday.

Larson added, “I felt like we did a better job than Justin [Allgaier]. He was just doing a good job in front of me, a really good job in traffic… He did a really good job in running really hard into three. I got, you know, loose underneath him and thankfully didn’t crash us. So yeah, then just paced him till the green flag stop and we had a good cycle there. Kind of had control at that point until the final cautions there at the end.”

Clearly, no animosity played out in the Xfinity Series field, as Kyle Larson confessed. He even saluted his JRM rival, and the latter also did the same.

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The final nail in the coffin

Well, Dale Earnhardt Jr. had forecasted some intense rivalry at Texas Motor Speedway. But not only did his drivers avoid confrontation, but they also shared kind words. That happened despite the immense trouble they faced on the track. Justin Allgaier led a race-high 99 laps and successfully kept Kyle Larson at bay for some time. However, bad luck descended when a cycle of green-flag pit stops in the final stage scrambled the running order.

Running 12th after pitting on Lap 153, Allgaier closed fast on Kris Wright near the exit from Turn 4. Wright failed to hold the bottom lane and drifted up, while Allgaier’s move to avoid him did not work. Because of the contact, the No. 7 slammed into the outside wall in the tri-oval. Then he slid down onto the infield grass.

Despite nursing his wounds with a 35th-place finish, Justin Allgaier showed his respect for Kyle Larson’s victory. This was the final nail in the coffin of Dale Jr.’s comeback claims. Allgaier said post-race, “Kyle and I had a great battle, and I was having a lot of fun with it. Obviously, the guy’s ultra-fast in anything that he drives.”

Allgaier then went on to take the blame for his bad day: “The hard part is, ultimately it falls on my shoulders,” Allgaier said. “We’d about gotten crashed a couple laps before the green-flag stop there, and I think they had some damage and he (Wright) was having a bit of a tough time with his race car, and I’m trying to catch back to the 88 and trying to push and ultimately put myself in a bad position.”

Evidently, Kyle Larson had a healthy fight with his Xfinity Series rivals in Texas. Nevertheless, the HMS star soared to victory, sticking to the main point he made in Bristol.