It seemingly didn't matter how far back the New Zealand driver would restart; he would be leading following a few corners.
Shane van Gisbergen is finally a winner at the Circuit of the Americas, known as the road course ace in both the NASCAR Cup Series and O'Reilly's Auto Parts Series, the New Zealand driver took the checkered flag ahead of Austin Hill Saturday evening.
In each stage of the Focused Health 250 at the COTA, Shane van Gisbergen put on a clinic in NASCAR's second-tier.
Following the restart for the final stage, van Gisbergen, who started fourth, masterfully slid on the inside of turn 16th past the leaders to take the lead with 20 laps remaining, all while throwing a peace sign at the competition.
3 WIDE FOR THE LEAD 😱
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) February 28, 2026
SVG back out in front! pic.twitter.com/BxjMU3Iwnb
SVG's biggest threat for a win in Saturday's race was his Trackhouse teammate in Cup and JRM teammate in O'Reilly, Connor Zilisch. Fans of road-course battles were robbed of seeing the two race after damage to the Cup Series rookie in the opening stage. Zilisch wheel-hopped early, braking a brake rotor in the rear and fading from the lead.
Zilisch's car was repaired, and the young phenom started his march through the field, up into the top ten with ten laps remaining. A hail mary caution for the No. 1 car came when Sage Karam ended up stopped and marooned near the racing surface.
Nick Sanchez and Justin Allgaier stayed out to take the front row, van Gisbergen restarted in sixth, and Zilisch in 11th.
SVG made the same move on the restart with five laps to go and plowed through from sixth to the lead. On the next lap, van Gisbergen ran the fastest lap of the race.
SVG to the lead after the restart 😮💨
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) February 28, 2026
Get to The CW for the finish!!! pic.twitter.com/49vQeTDVnu
"I kinda sucked the No. 41 in, and he sorta took everyone out for me, so that was cool," van Gisbergen told The CW Sports following his race-winning move on the lap 61 restart.
Harrison Burton and Rajah Caruth got tangled in turn 6A, collecting several of the front-runners, but the race stayed green with all cars involved getting going and maintaining minimal speed.
On the next lap, after just breaking back into the top-five, Zilisch spins in the S's and crashes after a nudge by Corey Day. Zilisch also continues on but fades to 22nd for his first finish outside the top five on a road course in NASCAR's second tier.
In five laps, van Gisbengen ran from sixth to a 1.8-second advantage on Austin Hill in second; Hill shortened the difference to 0.780 at the checkered flag. Sammy Smith and Jesse Love followed. Day completed the top five after his contact with Zilisch, and 17-year-old Brent Crews finished sixth in his series debut.
You Might Also Like
Category: General Sports
