By Matt Crider, Staff Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas — Kyle Larson rode off with another victory Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway, leaving a handful of NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers lamenting what could have been.
Taylor Gray emerged from double overtime in the Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 with a career-best second-place finish in the No. 54 Toyota.
“It shouldn’t be, right? It shouldn’t be a career best,” Gray said. “It’s nice to finish second; obviously I want to win. I’m more so happy that my team and I were able to recover from my mistakes earlier in the day and able to bring home a strong run and a strong finish for our two weeks off.”
Gray’s previous best was third place last year at Richmond while running a part-time schedule for Joe Gibbs Racing. Promoted to full time, Gray finished fifth this season at Daytona and Rockingham.
“I can’t thank all my Joe Gibbs Racing guys enough for bringing me a really fast Operation 300 GR Supra,” Gray said. “I tried to ruin our day a few times for us, just with dumb mistakes toward the beginning and middle of the race. But it just kind of shows how strong this 54 group is, being able to fight back and get a good finish.”
Sam Mayer, the 2024 winner in Fort Worth, lined up in front of Gray in the inside lane for the final restart. Mayer had taken the lead on the final restart in regulation with seven laps remaining and again during the first overtime attempt. He was unable to get the No. 41 Ford clear of the field one more time.
“I just had no help,” Mayer said. “[Larson] — I beat him. I straight up outclassed him right there, and he just had a push. … He got to my quarter, was able to side draft on [Turn 1] entry and it was over from there. I did everything right. I learned my lessons from Homestead — how to restart and do the job right. I did it better than anyone on the front row, but it just didn’t go my way and that’s just part of racing.
“I was able to gap [Gray], and on restarts you want them on your bumper. I’ll have to look at it. I probably need to be a little better on my timing to help the 54, but I did everything I could to beat [Larson]. I knew he was going to be able to roll the top.”
Larson, who will start fourth Sunday in the Cup Series race at TMS, picked up his 17th Xfinity win. He’s won twice this season in three starts and also won in Fort Worth in the fall of 2016.
Championship leader Justin Allgaier won the first stage Saturday and finished second in Stage 2. He was battling Larson for the lead in Stage 3 before crashing the No. 7 Chevrolet.
“It’s hard to be sitting here and not still out on the racetrack,” Allgaier said. “Kyle can go fast in anything he drives, and he’s done a great job.
“Probably the most disappointing part about the day is it’s my mom’s birthday. I would love to get a trophy and celebrate her birthday with that, and instead I’m standing here.”