In a masterclass of road-course racing, Shane van Gisbergen piloted his No. 9 Safety Culture Chevrolet to a thrilling victory at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) on February 28, 2026. The win marks a historic milestone for JR Motorsports, securing their tenth consecutive road course victory in the series.
A Battle of Titans
The race began with high drama as pole-sitter Connor Zilisch and Van Gisbergen led the field to green. The two swapped the lead multiple times in the opening laps, with SVG making a daring move in Turn 2 to take the early advantage.
While Zilisch showed incredible raw speed, leading several laps early on, he eventually faded to 10th before an unfortunate spin in the “esses” on Lap 63 ended his hopes for a top-five finish.
Chaos and Consistency
The race was characterized by strategic pit stops and late-race carnage. A series of cautions in the final stage shook up the leaderboard:
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Lap 57: Sage Karam suffered a broken left front suspension, bringing out the yellow.
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Lap 62: A multi-car pileup in Turn 6a involving Sam Mayer, Rajah Caruth, and Carson Kvapil sent several contenders into the tire barriers.
Despite the chaos, Van Gisbergen remained unflappable. After a final restart on Lap 61, he surged from sixth to first exiting Turn 1, never looking back.
By the Numbers: SVG’s Dominant Day
Van Gisbergen’s performance metrics highlight why he is considered the gold standard for road course racing:
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Laps Led: 31 of 65 total laps.
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Fastest Lap: 99.452 seconds (86.876 mph).
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Top 10 Consistency: Spent 63 of 65 laps inside the top 10.
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Average Running Position: 2.94.
The Road Ahead
With this win, Van Gisbergen joins an elite club, becoming only the second driver (alongside Ty Gibbs) to lead laps in each of their first ten road course starts. As the circuit moves forward, the “SVG Standard” has clearly been set.
Austin Hill managed to clinch the Stage 1 win, while Sam Mayer took the honors for Stage 2, but neither had an answer for the No. 9 car when it mattered most in the closing laps.
COTA O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Results
February 28, 2026
|
POSITION
|
START
|
LED
|
BEHIND
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
S. Van Gisbergen #9
|
2
|
31
|
Winner
|
|
2 |
Austin Hill #21
|
3
|
4
|
0.780
|
|
3 |
S. Smith #8
|
10
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
|
4 |
J. Love #2
|
11
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
|
5 |
C. Day #17
|
12
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
|
6 |
B. Crews #19
|
7
|
5
|
1 Lap
|
|
7 |
J. Allgaier #7
|
5
|
1
|
1 Lap
|
|
8 |
W. Sawalich #18
|
15
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
|
9 |
R. Chastain #32
|
21
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
|
10 |
B. Poole #44
|
26
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
|
11 |
S. Creed #00
|
9
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
|
12 |
T. Gray #54
|
14
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
|
13 |
A. Labbe #0
|
28
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
|
14 |
B. Jones #20
|
4
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
|
15 |
S. Mayer #41
|
8
|
8
|
1 Lap
|
|
16 |
R. Sieg #39
|
18
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
|
17 |
B. Perkins #31
|
24
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
|
18 |
J. Burton #27
|
34
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
|
19 |
P. Staropoli #48
|
32
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
|
20 |
C. Kvapil #91
|
6
|
2
|
1 Lap
|
|
21 |
C. Zilisch #1
|
1
|
14
|
1 Lap
|
|
22 |
L. Scott #45
|
31
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
|
23 |
A. Alfredo #96
|
16
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
|
24 |
N. Sanchez #25
|
20
|
1
|
1 Lap
|
|
25 |
K. Sieg #28
|
35
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
|
26 |
P. Pardus #50
|
17
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
|
27 |
D. Thompson #26
|
27
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
|
28 |
J. Yeley #42
|
36
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
|
29 |
H. Burton #24
|
23
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
|
30 |
P. Retzlaff #99
|
29
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
|
31 |
J. Clements #51
|
30
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
|
32 |
R. Caruth #88
|
19
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
|
33 |
A. Green #87
|
13
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
|
34 |
R. Ellis #02
|
33
|
0
|
2 Laps
|
|
35 |
S. Karam #55
|
22
|
0
|
12 Laps
|
|
36 |
J. Bilicki #07
|
25
|
0
|
30 Laps
|
|
37 |
B. Leguizamón #30
|
37
|
0
|
32 Laps
|
|
38 |
Austin . Hill #35
|
38
|
0
|
58 Laps
|
