TRACK – Circuit of The Americas (2.4-mile road course)
NOAPS RACE – Focused Health 250 (65 laps / 156 miles)
TUNE IN – CW, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90 at 3:00 p.m. (ET)
- Connor Zilisch will be making his first NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series start of the 2026 season Saturday afternoon at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. This will also be his first race with crew chief Rodney Childers.
- Zilisch is the defending race winner at COTA. He scored his first victory of the 2025 season, leading the most laps (26 of 65) and officially scoring the victory by 1.639 seconds. Zilisch became the second-youngest multi-time winner in series history.
- Zilisch led all NOAPS drivers in every statistical category on road courses during the 2025 season. He scored five wins, five poles and logged top-five finishes in all six road course events. Zilisch led the most laps (280), miles (615.826) and racked up the most points (285).
- Zilisch captured the most wins (10) and poles (8) by an NOAPS driver in 2025, while also giving JR Motorsports its 100th NOAPS win in July at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
- Zilisch will be carrying an on-board camera this weekend, courtesy of O’Reilly Auto Parts. Be sure to tune into the CW at 3:00pm ET to catch all the action.
- In five career NOAPS starts at COTA, Justin Allgaier has scored two top-fives, with a best finish of third coming in the inaugural event in 2021.
- Allgaier is a two-time winner on road courses behind the wheel of a JRM Chevrolet, earning wins at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Road America during the 2018 NOAPS season.
- Overall, in 62 NOAPS starts on road courses, Allgaier has amassed three wins, 18 top-fives and 37 top-10s.
- Last season on road courses, Allgaier recorded a best finish of sixth at both Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen International.
- Sammy Smith heads to COTA this Saturday for the first road-course race of the 2026 NOAPS season.
- Smith has run on the 2.4-mile circuit three times with the NOAPS and recorded his best finish of fourth in 2023.
- In 19 starts on road courses, Smith has accumulated five top-five and nine top-10 finishes with the NOAPS.
- Shane van Gisbergen will make his second NOAPS start at COTA this Saturday, piloting the No. 9 SafetyCulture Chevrolet for the first time this season. Van Gisbergen is on a quest for his first career win at COTA.
- In van Gisbergen’s first NOAPS start at COTA, he started second, led 20 laps and was fighting for the win on the last restart, but ultimately finished 27th due to a penalty on the last lap of the event.
- Last season, van Gisbergen made three starts in the No. 9 JRM Chevrolet. He secured one victory at The Chicago Street Race. He finished second to teammate Zilisch at Sonoma Raceway and at Watkins Glen, he earned a 31st-place finish after being collected in an incident while battling to maintain the lead with 18 laps remaining.
- Van Gisbergen made a clean sweep of NASCAR weekend in July at Chicago. He won both poles and both races in Cup and NOAPS races on the street course, becoming the first driver since Kyle Busch at Indianapolis in 2016 to accomplish the feat.
- In addition to his dominant weekend in Chicago, van Gisbergen collected five Cup Series victories, all on road courses. Van Gisbergen became the fastest driver to five Cup Series wins since Dan Gurney in 1968 and holds the record for most wins by a rookie in a single season (five).
- In the 2025 NOAPS season, Smith’s best finishes on road courses were at Watkins Glen and the Charlotte Roval where he crossed the line in third.
- Rajah Caruth heads to COTA second in the NASCAR O’Reilly Series point standings, carrying momentum from Atlanta where he earned his first career stage victory and led laps en route to a strong points night.
- Caruth will make his first NASCAR O’Reilly Series start at COTA this Saturday. He has made one previous road course start in the NASCAR O’Reilly Series, coming at the Charlotte Roval last season.
- In the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series at COTA, Caruth has made one start, earning an 11th-place finish while gaining valuable experience navigating the technical corners, elevation changes, and heavy braking zones that define the challenging Texas road course.
- In six career road courses starts in the NCTS, Caruth has earned a best finish of fourth, coming at the Charlotte Roval in 2025.
Connor Zilisch: “I’m really looking forward to my first start this season in the Roto-Rooter Chevrolet with JR Motorsports. The race at Circuit of the Americas was such a huge one for us last year and I can’t wait to be back and work with Rodney Childers and the No. 1 team this weekend. COTA is a real cool track and now that NASCAR is racing the short course it gets pretty intense and chaotic. There’s not a lot of time to rest. You’re always in a corner and it’s also unique because of the track limits. You’re having to manage that at all times through the esses and everywhere. It takes an immense amount of focus to get around there and be consistent and not make mistakes that can end your day very quickly.”
Justin Allgaier: “Road-course racing is always such a unique challenge. No two road courses are the same, and COTA is definitely one of the more challenging road courses we race on. We’ve been hard at work getting this BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet ready to go for this weekend and I know that Andrew (Overstreet, crew chief) and all the guys on this team have a great plan in place for us. JRM has had an incredible record on road courses here lately and hopefully we can add to that again on Saturday.”
Sammy Smith: “I’m looking forward to COTA this weekend, after the last two plate races, it will be nice to be on a track where you have a bit more control over situations out there and have ways to keep your nose clean. Cory (Shea, crew chief) and this No. 8 Pilot team have brought solid cars to the track this season and made great calls each week. We’ve been working to improve on road courses and I know we can get Pilot into Victory Lane at the end of the 65 laps on Saturday.”
Shane van Gisbergen: “I’m stoked! COTA is not one of my strongest road courses, but I enjoy it. Turn One is crazy! It’s great to have SafetyCulture on board with me for both races this weekend. JRM always brings fast Chevrolets to the track, so I’m looking forward to hopping back in the No. 9 car and seeing what we can accomplish. Thanks to JR Motorsports, Trackhouse and Chevrolet for giving me the opportunity to run the O’Reilly Auto Parts race this weekend. Hopefully we can get a great result.”
Rajah Caruth: “COTA is a different challenge compared to the superspeedways, but it’s one I’m excited for. I’ve been putting in a lot of work on the simulator and iRacing to sharpen my road-course approach, especially with braking zones and managing tire wear over the long run. We’re coming in with good momentum after Atlanta, and that gives our whole No. 88 HendrickCars.com team confidence. If we stay disciplined, execute our strategy, and keep the car clean, we can have a solid run this weekend.”
JRM Team Updates
- JR Motorsports at Circuit of The Americas: JR Motorsports has competed at Circuit of the Americas a combined 23 times in the NOAPS. In those starts at the 2.4-mile road course, the organization has recorded one win, five top-fives and 10 top-10s. The average finish is 15.3.
- Souvenir Rig: JRM drivers Carson Kvapil, Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith and Rajah Caruth will be signing autographs at the JR Motorsports/HMS WB + AB souvenir rig on Saturday, Feb. 28 from 12:00-12:30 p.m. CT.