Shane van Gisbergen shows his class and wins the Focused Health 250

AUSTIN, Texas — Shane van Gisbergen survives the late Texas tango with a beautiful crossover move into turn one to win the Focused Health 250 at Circuit of the Americas.

This is van Gisbergen’s first NASCAR O’Reilly Series win at COTA and his fifth series win overall.

Shane van Gisbergen led the most laps, 31, but did not unleash his usual road course dominance.

His teammate Connor Zilisch showed early speed and led laps, but a worn brake rotor failed at the start of Stage 2 crippled his day. His crew made repairs, yet the issue buried them in traffic.

A caution for Sage Karam’s left-front suspension damage gave Zilisch a lifeline, and he restarted 11th.

He surged to fourth before rookie Corey Day right-hooked him while trying to fall back in line through the esses. Zilisch finished 21st as a result.

“He’s just a hack” a frustrated Zilisch remarked on the radio soon after.

His best friend, Jesse Love, kept van Gisbergen in touch for most of the final stage before the caution with nine to go. He made it through the chaos for a fourth placed finish.

Brent Crews made history as the first 17-year-old to lead a lap in the series since 1998 after a bold dive into Turn 1 on a restart. He kept it clean and finished sixth on debut.

Austin Hill picked up the first stage win and ran top five the entire event before settling in to finish second as he extends his points lead.

Sam Mayer won the second stage by winning a tight race off pit road after he capitalized on his EchoPark Speedway pole with the first pit-stall.

Mayer led the race in stage points, 19, and briefly challenged van Gisbergen for the win but missed his braking point into Turn 1.

He later slipped to 14th after brushing the outside tire barriers on the backstretch which caused a multi-car pileup.

Justin Allgaier recovered from a loose wheel to finish an incredible seventh while Ross Chastain and Brennan Poole took home top tens after surviving the final few chaotic laps.

Finally, journeyman Brad Perez jumped into the No. 42 midway through the race in place of an ailing JJ Yeley. He finished 28th on the lead lap.

Full Results and Points from COTA