2026 Focused Health 250 Recap — Van Gisbergen Wins at COTA, JR Motorsports Claims Tenth Consecutive Road Course Win
Sunday, March 1, 2026
The Short Version
Shane Van Gisbergen won the Focused Health 250 at COTA by 0.780 seconds over Austin Hill, giving JR Motorsports their tenth consecutive O’Reilly Auto Parts Series road course win. Van Gisbergen ran as an invitational driver and is not eligible for series points, but his win extended one of the most impressive organizational streaks in the series. Sam Mayer won Stage 2, and Hill showed the strongest pace of any points-eligible driver in the field.
What Happened
Van Gisbergen started second and challenged for the lead immediately, with Connor Zilisch starting from the pole and leading the opening laps. The two JR Motorsports entries swapped positions early while Brent Crews in the No. 19 Toyota showed strong early pace in Stage 1.
Stage 1 went to Austin Hill, who edged Mayer for the stage win after a chaotic pit cycle on lap 22 reshuffled the field. The restart sequencing at COTA creates unusual racing — the multi-corner complex allows for passes that flat ovals simply don’t, and the gap between a clean restart and a messy one can stretch to ten seconds in a few corners.
Van Gisbergen found the lead at lap 29 when he passed Crews through turn 6A into 6B. Crews made contact with Sheldon Creed in turn 16 while fighting for third, and Creed spun — Creed dropped to 14th and spent the remainder of the race recovering. Van Gisbergen’s pass for the lead was the decisive move of the race.
Mayer won Stage 2 convincingly, extending his day’s lead. But at lap 41, the restart changed everything — Mayer led from the inside, Love took the outside, and Van Gisbergen — restarting sixth — surged through the field and took the lead by turn 1. From there it was his race.
The final caution for a Sage Karam mechanical failure set up a sprint to the flag. Van Gisbergen had enough of a gap to manage the restart and crossed 0.780 seconds clear of Hill. JR Motorsports had their tenth consecutive O’Reilly road course win.
The Defining Moment
The lap 41 restart. Van Gisbergen started sixth — two rows behind the lead — and led by turn 1. That kind of move on a road course restart requires a car with significant pace advantage and a driver who knows exactly where to apply it. Both were true.
The One That Got Away
Austin Hill. He won Stage 1, finished second, and was the strongest points-eligible driver in the field. Road course wins for series regulars are harder to come by when invitational drivers — who often bring superior road course equipment and recent experience — fill out the front of the entry list. Hill drove as well as any regular could have driven at COTA. The win went to the invitational entry.
Numbers That Matter
- Winner: Shane Van Gisbergen — No. 9 Chevrolet (invitational — not eligible for points)
- Margin of Victory: 0.780 seconds
- Cautions: 4 for 12 laps
- Lead Changes: 16 among 8 leaders
- Stage 1 winner: Austin Hill | Stage 2 winner: Sam Mayer
- JR Motorsports road course streak: 10 consecutive O’Reilly road course wins
Take
Van Gisbergen on a road course is a different problem than any other driver in the O’Reilly field. He drives with precision that most short-track specialists don’t develop — the steering inputs are smaller, the late braking is more aggressive, and the ability to manage tire wear over a long run while still attacking is something that takes years of road racing to acquire. The JR Motorsports equipment helps. The driver makes the difference.
Hill finishing second is the right way to read this race for the points standings. He was the best regular, ran a clean race, and left COTA having led a stage and finished on the podium. Two weeks after getting bumped off the lead on the final lap at Atlanta, second place at a road course is a better result than the finishing position suggests.
The JR Motorsports road course streak is a legitimate organizational achievement. Ten consecutive O’Reilly wins on road courses isn’t one driver — it’s a team that has built specific road course expertise and keeps showing up with the right setup and the right execution. The streak continues until someone figures out how to beat them at their own game.
Notes
- Connor Zilisch started from the pole and led the early laps before fading; a lap 63 spin in the esses after contact with Corey Day ended his afternoon in 21st
- Ross Chastain ran invitational (No. 32) and finished 9th — best result among invitational entries not named Van Gisbergen
- Sage Karam’s Subaru ran until a lap 53 mechanical failure brought out the final caution
- Baltazar Leguizamon ran 37th, completing 33 of 65 laps in his COTA debut