TRACK – Texas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile quad-oval)
NOAPS RACE – Andy’s Frozen Custard 340 (200 laps / 300 miles)
TUNE IN – CW, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90 at 3:30 p.m. (ET)
- Connor Zilisch will make his fourth NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series start of the 2026 season Saturday afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway and his first at the 1.5-mile track.
- Zilisch enters Texas fresh off a victory in his last NOAPS start at Bristol Motor Speedway. Zilisch claimed his first victory of the 2026 season and won for the 12th time in 39 career starts in the series – all with JR Motorsports.
- The driver of the Registix Chevrolet racked up four wins on intermediate size tracks in 2025: Pocono Raceway, Dover Motor Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and World Wide Technology Raceway (St. Louis).
- Justin Allgaier has earned a best finish of second in 28 NOAPS starts at Texas, coming in this event in 2021.
- Overall, Allgaier has amassed seven top-fives and 15 top-10s at the 1.5-mile Texas quad-oval.
- Allgaier led for a race-high 99 laps in this event last year before being collected in a late-race incident.
- Allgaier has led 57.4 percent of all the laps run over the previous three events in Fort Worth dating back to the fall of 2023 (349 out of 608 total laps).
- Sammy Smith will head to Texas Saturday afternoon for his fourth NOAPS start on the 1.5-mile quad-oval where he has a best finish of third coming in 2023.
- In 54 starts on tracks measuring 1-2 miles in length, Smith has tallied two wins (Phoenix in Spring 2023 and Rockingham 2025), nine top-fives and 26 top-10s.
- Smith currently sits in sixth on the championship leaderboard, just one point from fifth.
- The JRM driver’s fourth-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway in the No. 8 Arby’s BBQ Chevrolet, qualified him for the final Dash 4 Cash event this Saturday.
- Carson Kvapil will make his second start at Texas this weekend in the NOAPS.
- In 27 career starts on tracks 1-2 miles in length, Kvapil has recorded seven top-fives and 10 top-10s.
- Accompanying Kvapil, crew chief Phillip Bell has made 33 NOAPS starts atop the box on tracks measuring 1-2 miles in length. In those starts, Bell has amassed one win, four top-fives and 11 top-10s.
- The No. 9 will showcase Arby’s new slow-smoked BBQ this Saturday at Texas.
- Kyle Larson returns to JRM competition this weekend at Texas behind the wheel of the No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet.
- In limited NASCAR O’Reilly Series starts this season for JRM, Larson has led more laps than any other driver, making him the current series lap leader with 384 laps led.
- In nine NASCAR O’Reilly Series starts at Texas, Larson has recorded two wins, four top-five finishes, and five top-10s.
- Larson is the defending winner of this event at Texas, earning the victory in 2025 while substituting in the No. 88 Chevrolet.
Connor Zilisch: “I got to work with Rodney (Childers, crew chief) for the first time this year and got the opportunity to see how hard he works, how smart he is, and how much he loves this sport. It’s been really, really cool to see that first-hand and I’m honored to be the driver he got his first JRM win with. He has a lot of knowledge and loves the O’Reilly-style car. That’s what he came up working on with the oldCup cars and that’s kind of his bread and butter. It’s been cool for me to get to work with him as the young guy.”
Justin Allgaier: “Texas has been a really good track for us over the last few years. I know that Andrew (Overstreet, crew chief) and all the guys on this Roto-Rooter Chevrolet are working really hard to give us another car capable of running up front again this weekend. We’ve come close here before, and hopefully we can be in a position at the end of the day to get that one spot better and come away with a Cowboy hat.”
Sammy Smith: “I’m ready to get to Texas and see what we can do in our No. 8 Pilot Chevrolet. We had a fast Arby’s car last week in Talladega and kept the car clean to bring home a top-five finish which felt great to do for Arby’s and this No. 8 JRM team. It was a good points day as well and are so close to breaking into the top-five in the standings so hopefully we can get Pilot into Victory Lane and keep moving up in the championship points.”
Carson Kvapil: “I’m ready to put last weekend behind us and get to Texas. I’m confident Phillip (Bell, crew chief) and this No. 9 team will bring a fast Arby’s BBQ Chevrolet to the track this weekend. We’ve shown great speed all season, and I expect us to be in the mix, fighting for the win when it counts.”
Kyle Larson: “Texas is a track I really enjoy with how much you can move around and find speed. Hopefully we can unload strong and be in position to contend with our No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet.”
JRM Team Updates
- JR Motorsports at Texas Motor Speedway: JR Motorsports has competed at Texas Motor Speedway a combined 110 times in the NOAPS. In those starts at the 1.5-mile quad-oval, the organization has recorded four wins, 32 top-fives and 68 top-10s. The average finish is 11.2.
- Souvenir Rig: JRM drivers Carson Kvapil, Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith and Rajah Caruth will be signing autographs at the JR Motorsports / HMS WB + AB souvenir rig on Saturday, May 2 from 10:45 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. CT.