Hendrick Motorsports ace Kyle Larson piloted the No. 88 JRM Chevy into the victory lane, subbing in a replacement for the injured Connor Zilisch. But as it turns out, Larson wasn’t the initial choice for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Co., especially after the former’s controversial remark following his dominant double win at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Despite taking issue with the HMS driver’s comments, Earnhardt still chose Larson to wheel the JRM Chevy at Texas. With Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 done and dusted, the veteran team owner revealed how JRM finalized on the 32-year-old as the rookie’s replacement.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Reveals Behind-the-Scenes Details of Larson’s Surprise Ride at Texas
Connor Zilisch, 18, suffered a horrific crash at Talladega Superspeedway after his JRM Chevy came in contact with Jesse Love’s car on the backstretch. The contact resulted in a wild spin, ending in a head-first crash into the inside wall.
While the young driver was checked and released from NASCAR’s infield medical center, he was ruled out for the upcoming race at Texas Motor Speedway. JRM needed a substitute for the injured driver. Although Larson was the name that popped into Earnhardt’s mind, in the latest “Dale Jr. Download,” the veteran explained that the HMS ace wasn’t the team’s first choice owing to their close association with Trackhouse Racing.
“We have this relationship with Trackhouse, Chastain, SVG, Connor Zilisch, which is a Trackhouse partnership. The partner sponsors and all that stuff,” said the 50-year-old. He added, “Well, Chastain can’t do it because he would then exceed his limit of races that you can because he has more races coming up. He’s already got five on the books.”
Chastain already ran two races – at Darlington and COTA – and is committed to running three more. That brought up Larson’s name again. “So, back to Larson we go. And of course Larson was like, ‘Yep, I’m in.’ He’ll do it. He’ll do anything. He’ll race. He’ll race anything.’ He’s like, ‘Race more? You got it,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. described the conversation with Larson.
Earlier, after Bristol, Larson poked the hornet’s nest when he said his motive to run Xfinity races was to “embarrass” the Xfinity field. Earnhardt took offense to this and retorted, challenging the HMS driver to back up his words by running more races.
Larson gladly stepped up and delivered, piloting the JRM car to victory lane at Texas in emphatic style. Now, that’s pure heroics.