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Celebrating its 75th Anniversary in 2023, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR consists of three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series™, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour™), one local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series™) and three international series (NASCAR Pinty’s Series™, NASCAR Mexico Series™, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series™). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).

Shane van Gisbergen charges to victory in NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts race at COTA

 

  

February 28, 2026

 

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

 

AUSTIN, Texas — With a bold, brilliant move moment after the final restart of Saturday’s Focused Health 250 at Circuit of the Americas, Shane van Gisbergen once again exhibited his road course supremacy.

 

Taking the inside line into Turn 1 after the restart with five laps left, van Gisbergen made a four-wide pass for the lead from the sixth position and pulled away to win the fifth NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts race of his career, this time by 0.780 seconds over runner-up Austin Hill.

 

In a rough-and-tumble event with more than its share of contact, van Gisbergen led five times for 31 laps, including the last five after the decisive move, as then-leader and Stage 2 winner Sam Mayer ran wide in the first corner, clearing the inside lane for the winning pass.

 

“I was a bit unsure there, starting sixth on the outside,” van Gisbergen said. “I kind of got to the inside, which was good, and nosed in on the 41 (Mayer), and he reacted. When he reacted, I thought no way he’s stopping that, and he kind of pushed everyone wide, which was awesome, and it worked out for us.”

 

The win was SVG’s first at COTA in his second O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at the track. He is winless in two NASCAR Cup Series starts at the Texas road course.

 

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

 

van Gisbergen’s victory was the 10th straight on road courses for JR Motorsports and the 106th for the organization overall.

 

Austin Hill’s runner-up finish was his third in five starts at the 2.4-mile track.

 

“I made a lot of mistakes out there today, but that’s going to happen on these road courses,” said Hill, the series points leader through three races. “Stage 2, I was struggling a little bit, just trying to figure out what I needed to be better.

 

“That (last) restart, I did a really good job getting left. As soon as they went off into the corner, I knew that they were going to slide up, and I was able to file in there in second, and then I had to go to work on SVG.

 

“He’s just so good at the first three laps of a run. He can really get away. I was struggling a little bit with front turn for the first two or three laps, and he kind of got that gap and was able to manage from there. Hats off to those guys. A better guy beat us today.”

 

In a race billed as a matchup between van Gisbergen and pole winner Connor Zilisch, Sammy Smith finished third, followed by Jesse Love and Corey Day, as Zilisch suffered a litany of issues that dropped him to 21st at the end.

 

After Zilisch led 12 laps during the first stage, the left-rear brake rotor on his No. 1 Chevrolet sheared, and the 19-year-old prodigy quickly dropped through the field. After stopping for repairs to the rear brakes, Zilisch started the final stage in 29th but just as rapidly worked his way forward.

 

With fewer than three laps left, he had just cleared Day’s No. 17 Chevrolet for fourth, when contact from Day’s car sent Zilisch spinning and damaged his Camaro.

 

“He got right in front of me there, and as soon as did and he crossed over my nose, I lost a little bit of what I had left (of front turn),” Day said. “It wasn’t intentional. I didn’t want to wreck him.”

 

The accident ruined Zilisch’s impressive charge from the back of the field.

 

“Really unfortunate,” Zilisch said. “Hopefully, he can figure it out… All I want is an apology, but he just stands over there and stares at me and makes it worse. But he’ll figure it out.”

 

Seventeen-year-old Brent Crews finished sixth in his series debut after taking the lead on

the Stage 2 restart. Crews is the first driver under 18 to lead laps in the series since Casey Atwood accomplished the feat in 1998.

 

William Sawalich, Justin Allgaier, Ross Chastain and Brennan Poole completed the top 10.

 

NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Race - Focused Health 250

Circuit of The Americas

Austin, Texas

Saturday, February 28, 2026

 

                  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

 

--30--
 

 

 
 

 

    O'reilly auto parts series

2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Schedule

 

Round

Date

Track

Location

Race Name

Time (ET)

1

Sat., Feb. 14

Daytona International Speedway

Daytona Beach, FL

United Rentals 300

5:00 PM

2

Sat., Feb. 21

EchoPark Speedway

Braselton, GA

Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250

5:00 PM

3

Sat., Feb. 28

Circuit of The Americas

Austin, TX

Focused Health 250

3:00 PM

4

Sat., Mar. 7

Phoenix Raceway

Avondale, AZ

GOVX 200

7:30 PM

5

Sat., Mar. 14

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Las Vegas, NV

The LiUNA NASCAR Xfinity Series

5:30 PM

6

Sat., Mar. 21

Darlington Raceway

Darlington, SC

Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200

5:30 PM

7

Sat., Mar. 28

Martinsville Speedway

Martinsville, VA

NFPA 250

3:30 PM

8

Sat., Apr. 4

Rockingham Speedway

Rockingham, NC

North Carolina Education Lottery 250

2:30 PM

9

Sat., Apr. 11

Bristol Motor Speedway

Bristol, TN

SciAps 300

7:30 PM

10

Sat., Apr. 18

Kansas Speedway

Kansas City, KS

Kansas Lottery 300

7:00 PM

11

Sat., Apr. 25

Talladega Superspeedway

Lincoln, AL

Ag-Pro 300

4:00 PM

12

Sat., May 2

Texas Motor Speedway

Fort Worth, TX

Andy’s Frozen Custard 300

3:30 PM

13

Sat., May 9

Watkins Glen International

Watkins Glen, NY

Mission 200 at The Glen

4:00 PM

14

Sat., May 16

Dover Motor Speedway

Dover, DE

BetRivers 200

4:00 PM

15

Sat., May 23

Charlotte Motor Speedway

Concord, NC

BetMGM 300

5:00 PM

16

Sat., May 30

Nashville Superspeedway

Lebanon, TN

Tennessee Lottery 250

7:30 PM

–

Sat., June 6

–

–

Off Week

–

17

Sat., June 13

Pocono Raceway

Long Pond, PA

Explore the Pocono Mountains 250

4:00 PM

18

Sat., June 20

Naval Base Coronado

Coronado, CA

N/A

5:00 PM

19

Sat., June 27

Sonoma Raceway

Sonoma, CA

Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250

5:30 PM

20

Sat., July 4

Chicagoland Speedway

Joliet, IL

N/A

5:30 PM

21

Sat., July 11

EchoPark Speedway

Braselton, GA

Focused Health 250

7:00 PM

–

Sat., July 18

–

–

Off Week

–

22

Sat., July 25

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Indianapolis, IN

Pennzoil 250

4:00 PM

–

Sat., Aug. 1

–

–

Off Week

–

23

Sat., Aug. 8

Iowa Speedway

Newton, IA

Hy-Vee Perks 250

5:00 PM

–

Sat., Aug. 15

–

–

Off Week

–

–

Sat., Aug. 22

–

–

Off Week

–

24

Fri., Aug. 28

Daytona International Speedway

Daytona Beach, FL

Wawa 250

7:30 PM

25

Sat., Sept. 5

Darlington Raceway

Darlington, SC

N/A

7:30 PM

26

Sat., Sept. 12

World Wide Technology Raceway

Madison, IL

Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog

7:30 PM

27

Fri., Sept. 18

Bristol Motor Speedway

Bristol, TN

Food City 300

7:30 PM

–

Sat., Sept. 26

–

–

Off Week

–

28

Sat., Oct. 3

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Las Vegas, NV

Focused Health 302

7:30 PM

29

Sat., Oct. 10

Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL

Concord, NC

Blue Cross NC 250

4:00 PM

30

Sat., Oct. 17

Phoenix Raceway

Avondale, AZ

N/A

7:30 PM

31

Sat., Oct. 24

Talladega Superspeedway

Lincoln, AL

The Progress Group 250

3:30 PM

32

Sat., Oct. 31

Martinsville Speedway

Martinsville, VA

IAA and Ritchie Bros. 250

4:00 PM

33

Sat., Nov. 7

Homestead-Miami Speedway

Homestead, FL

O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Championship

5:00 PM
 

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