Van Gisbergen Wins First Circuit of the Americas Race

Defending champion Connor Zilisch denied repeat victory in Focused Health 250

Published on Mar. 2, 2026

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Shane Van Gisbergen won the Focused Health 250 NASCAR race at Circuit of the Americas on Saturday, taking his first victory at the Austin, Texas track. Defending race champion Connor Zilisch was in contention early but was set back by car trouble, allowing Van Gisbergen to pull away for the win.

Why it matters

Van Gisbergen has long been dominant on road courses, but COTA has eluded him in the past. This victory marks an important milestone for the driver, who will also compete in this week's Cup Series race at the track.

The details

Despite going back and forth with Zilisch early in the race, Van Gisbergen was able to pull away after a late caution period when many of his competitors pitted. "The last yellow came out, and then we pitted and thankfully a lot of people pitted with us, and then the restart was just awesome," Van Gisbergen said. "They kind of pushed each other wide and I came through."

  • The Focused Health 250 took place on Saturday, March 1, 2026.

The players

Shane Van Gisbergen

A dominant road course racer who has finally secured his first victory at Circuit of the Americas.

Connor Zilisch

The defending champion of the Focused Health 250 who was denied a repeat win due to car trouble.

Tyler Reddick

The pole sitter for this week's Cup Series race at COTA, who is looking to make history by winning the first three races of the season.

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What they’re saying

“What an awesome day to be up front all day. A lot of action on restarts, but stoked to finally win here.”

— Shane Van Gisbergen (wgno.com)

“Starting up front is huge. We did the same thing last year and Shane and Kyle were able to get around us early. We need to maintain that, hang onto it this time around.”

— Tyler Reddick (wgno.com)

What’s next

The NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series heads to Phoenix Raceway next week for the GOVX 200, which will air on Saturday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m. ET on The CW.

The takeaway

Van Gisbergen's victory at COTA marks an important milestone for the road course ace, who has long been dominant but struggled at this particular track. Meanwhile, Tyler Reddick will look to make history by winning the first three races of the season in this week's Cup Series event.