Shane van Gisbergen gave a commanding performance at Circuit of the Americas on Saturday, winning the afternoon’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race. His No. 9 SafetyCulture Chevrolet was virtually untouchable during green flag conditions, as has been the case in many road course races over the last couple seasons.
“Good to finally execute, we had an awesome day,” van Gisbergen told The CW after climbing from his car. “The pit crew was awesome and the strategy worked out well.”
The only driver who could keep pace with van Gisbergen was Connor Zilisch, another NASCAR Cup Series driver running the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race for JR Motorsports. Zilisch traded the lead with van Gisbergen early before a broken brake rotor cost him precious track position. He was nearly back into the top five before being turned into the tire barrier by Corey Day.
SVG’s Road Course Domination
With his Saturday win, Shane van Gisbergen is now a five-time winner in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. All those wins have come on road courses, and Saturday is van Gisbergen’s first win at COTA in any NASCAR national series. On Sunday he’ll attempt to win his sixth straight road course race in the Cup Series, tying a record set by Jeff Gordon.
Despite his overall road course prowess, Shane van Gisbergen was eluded by COTA until Saturday. In one prior O’Reilly Auto Parts Series start he finished 27th. His two Cup Series finishes there are 20th and sixth. Even in a relatively short NASCAR career the only other road course that’s kept van Gisbergen out of Victory Lane is the Indianapolis road course, which was taken off the schedule after his first race there.
SVG to the lead after the restart 😮💨
Get to The CW for the finish!!! pic.twitter.com/49vQeTDVnu
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) February 28, 2026
The pass for the win came on the final restart, in which van Gisbergen drove around five cars in one corner. The No. 9 Chevy lost track position on pit road, before flying around Justin Allgaier, Jesse Love, Sam Mayer, Sammy Smith, and Nick Sanchez immediately after the green flag dropped.
Austin Hill finished second in the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, followed by Sammy Smith’s No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. Jesse Love finished fourth for RCR, followed by Hendrick Motorsports’ Corey Day to round out the top five.
Connor Zilisch’s Troublesome Day
“Corey Day is a hack. An absolute hack,” Zilisch said over his radio after being turned by the No. 17 car. Saturday marks the second consecutive week in which Day brought about issues for JR Motorsports cars; last week in Atlanta he made contact with Carson Kvapil and then drifted in front of Justin Allgaier, causing damage to both.
Zilisch on Saturday was rallying for a potential shot at a win in the event of a late restart, but was forced to settle for 21st. “I don’t need to explain myself, I think everyone saw what happened,” Zilisch said. “Same guy every week that does this […] All I want is an apology, but the guy just stands over there and stares at me. He’ll figure it out.”
“We had some part of the pan under the front end there,” Day said after the race. “I’m gonna get no sympathy for, I guess, that off my track record. But yeah, it wasn’t intentional. I didn’t wanna wreck him or have that happen.”
A Solid Day for Underdogs
Though he missed out on a top-five, 17-year-old Brent Crews turned heads by leading multiple laps and finishing sixth for Joe Gibbs Racing. With only ten Craftsman Truck Series starts under his belt, Crews was a persistent factor in his O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut. He led five laps and navigated traffic to stay in the hunt for the win until the end.
Brennan Poole also impressed with a tenth-place finish for Alpha Prime Racing, another strong run following his near-win at Daytona International Speedway to open the season. With three drivers ahead of him declared for points in other series, Poole had the seventh-best points day of any full-time O’Reilly Auto Parts Series driver.
Another strong showing came from Alex Labbé, who finished thirteenth in the No. 0 SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet. Racing part-time in 2025 Labbé consistently showed top-15 speed on road courses, a trend which continued on Saturday. His solid run marks the best finish of the season so far for SS-Green Light Racing.
Race Results
