Shane van Gisbergen in the #9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro at Circuit of the Americas during the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series practice
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NASCAR News: Shane van Gisbergen schools the field in O’Reilly Auto Parts race at COTA

Posted by AR1 staff

AUSTIN, Texas — Shane van Gisbergen (pictured) reaffirmed his status as a road-course titan on Saturday, utilizing a breathtaking move on the final restart of the Focused Health 250 at Circuit of the Americas to secure his fifth career NASCAR victory.

The Winning Move

Starting sixth on the final restart with just five laps remaining, van Gisbergen aggressively dove to the inside of Turn 1. As then-leader and Stage 2 winner Sam Mayer ran wide in the opening corner, SVG capitalized on a four-wide scramble to rocket into the lead. He never looked back, crossing the finish line 0.780 seconds ahead of series points leader Austin Hill.

“I was a bit unsure starting sixth on the outside,” van Gisbergen admitted. “I managed to get to the inside and nosed in on Mayer. When he reacted, he pushed everyone wide, which was awesome for us. It worked out perfectly.”

Shane Van Gisbergen, driver of the #9 Safety Culture Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Focused Health 250 at Circuit of The Americas on February 28, 2026 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

A Milestone for JR Motorsports

The victory marked a significant milestone for JR Motorsports, representing their 10th consecutive road-course win and the 106th overall for the organization. While van Gisbergen has been a constant threat at COTA, this win marked his first at the track in this series.

“I’ve always been fast here but never managed to win,” van Gisbergen said. “I’m pretty stoked to finally get it done—it was a pretty flawless day.”

Hill and the Field

Austin Hill’s runner-up finish was his third top-two result in five COTA starts. Despite his consistency, Hill acknowledged the difficulty of keeping pace with the “Kiwi” specialist.

“I had to go to work on SVG, but he’s just so good at the first three laps of a run,” Hill noted. “A better guy beat us today.”

Sammy Smith claimed third, followed by Jesse Love and Corey Day. Further back, Connor Zilisch experienced a roller-coaster debut. After leading 12 laps early, a sheared brake rotor forced him to the back of the field. His heroic charge back into the top five ended prematurely when contact from Corey Day sent him spinning with less than three laps to go, resulting in a 21st-place finish.

History in the Making

The race also featured a historic performance by 17-year-old Brent Crews. Making his series debut, Crews finished sixth and became the first driver under 18 to lead laps in the series since Casey Atwood in 1998.

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Race – Focused Health 250

  1. (2)  Shane Van Gisbergen(i), Chevrolet, 65.
  2. (3)  Austin Hill, Chevrolet, 65.
  3. (10)  Sammy Smith, Chevrolet, 65.
  4. (11)  Jesse Love, Chevrolet, 65.
  5. (12)  Corey Day, Chevrolet, 65.
  6. (7)  Brent Crews, Toyota, 65.
  7. (15)  William Sawalich, Toyota, 65.
  8. (5)  Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 65.
  9. (21)  Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 65.
  10. (26)  Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 65.
  11. (9)  Sheldon Creed, Chevrolet, 65.
  12. (14)  Taylor Gray, Toyota, 65.
  13. (28)  Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, 65.
  14. (8)  Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, 65.
  15. (4)  Brandon Jones, Toyota, 65.
  16. (18)  Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 65.
  17. (24)  Blaine Perkins, Chevrolet, 65.
  18. (34)  Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 65.
  19. (6)  Carson Kvapil, Chevrolet, 65.
  20. (32)  Patrick Staropoli, Chevrolet, 65.
  21. (1)  Connor Zilisch(i), Chevrolet, 65.
  22. (31)  Lavar Scott #, Chevrolet, 65.
  23. (16)  Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 65.
  24. (35)  Kyle Sieg, Chevrolet, 65.
  25. (20)  Nick Sanchez, Ford, 65.
  26. (27)  Dean Thompson, Toyota, 65.
  27. (17)  Preston Pardus, Chevrolet, 65.
  28. (36)  JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, 65.
  29. (23)  Harrison Burton, Toyota, 65.
  30. (29)  Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet, 65.
  31. (19)  Rajah Caruth, Chevrolet, 65.
  32. (30)  Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 65.
  33. (13)  Austin Green, Chevrolet, 65.
  34. (33)  Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 64.
  35. (22)  Sage Karam, Toyota, Suspension, 53.
  36. (25)  Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, Suspension, 35.
  37. (37)  Baltazar Leguizamon, Chevrolet, Accident, 33.
  38. (38)  Austin J Hill, Chevrolet, Suspension, 7.

Average Speed of Race Winner:  70.411 mph.

Time of Race:  2 Hrs, 12 Mins, 56 Secs. Margin of Victory:  .780 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  4 for 12 laps.

Lead Changes:  16 among 8 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   S. Gisbergen(i) 1-5;C. Zilisch(i) 6-17;A. Hill 18-21;S. Mayer 22;S. Gisbergen(i) 23;C. Zilisch(i) 24;B. Crews 25-28;S. Gisbergen(i) 29-35;S. Mayer 36;C. Kvapil 37-38;S. Mayer 39-44;S. Gisbergen(i) 45-57;B. Crews 58;N. Sanchez 59;J. Allgaier 60;S. Gisbergen(i) 61-65.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Shane Van Gisbergen(i) 5 times for 31 laps; Connor Zilisch(i) 2 times for 13 laps; Sam Mayer 3 times for 8 laps; Brent Crews 2 times for 5 laps; Austin Hill 1 time for 4 laps; Carson Kvapil 1 time for 2 laps; Justin Allgaier 1 time for 1 lap; Nick Sanchez 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 21,41,7,20,2,91,17,87,88,9

Stage #2 Top Ten: 41,7,91,2,9,21,8,20,32,39