On Friday, February 27, at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, Connor Zilisch secured the pole position for the Focused Health 250 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race. The event uses a qualifying system where the 40 drivers are split into two groups, with each group allotted 20 minutes to record their fastest lap, and the quickest lap overall earns the pole spot.
Zilisch, competing in the first group and coming off a ninth-fastest practice run on Saturday, posted a pole-winning lap speed of 88.398 mph, completing the circuit in 97.740 seconds. This lap earned the Charlotte, North Carolina native his first pole start of the 2026 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season.
Career Milestone and Previous Success at COTA
This pole marks notable career milestones for Zilisch, representing his 10th pole in the O’Reilly series, his seventh achieved on road courses, and his second consecutive pole position at Circuit of the Americas in the series. Impressively, Zilisch has also taken pole positions at this venue across NASCAR’s three national touring divisions for three straight years, with his 2024 Craftsman Truck Series pole underscoring his consistent performance on this track.
Currently, Zilisch is a full-time NASCAR Cup Series competitor with Trackhouse Racing. For this event, he is driving the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro with JR Motorsports in a selective O’Reilly Series appearance. As the defending O’Reilly winner at COTA, he aims to join AJ Allmendinger as one of the few drivers to secure back-to-back wins in Austin’s O’Reilly races.
Key Rivals and Starting Grid Overview
Sharing the front row, Shane van Gisbergen qualified second with a lap at 88.209 mph in 97.949 seconds. Van Gisbergen, returning for selective starts in the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro with JR Motorsports, strives for his first victory at this venue during Saturday’s main event.
Austin Hill, the fastest from the second qualifying group and a two-time runner-up at COTA, will start third after recording an 87.841 mph lap in 98.359 seconds. Hill looks to capture his first win both at the track and on a road course Saturday.
Brandon Jones and Justin Allgaier qualified fourth and fifth respectively, while the rest of the top 10 includes Carson Kvapil, rookie Brent Crews, Sam Mayer (the fastest in practice), Sheldon Creed, and Sammy Smith completing the lineup. Their times ranged from strong mid-87 mph speeds down to just under 87.4 mph.
With 40 drivers competing for 38 starting spots, Josh Williams and Tyler Gonzalez narrowly missed qualification for the race.
Complete Starting Positions and Qualifying Speeds
1. Connor Zilisch – 88.398 mph, 97.740 seconds
2. Shane van Gisbergen – 88.209 mph, 97.949 seconds
3. Austin Hill – 87.841 mph, 98.359 seconds
4. Brandon Jones – 87.762 mph, 98.448 seconds
5. Justin Allgaier – 87.661 mph, 98.562 seconds
6. Carson Kvapil – 87.652 mph, 98.572 seconds
7. Brent Crews – 87.565 mph, 98.670 seconds
8. Sam Mayer – 87.523 mph, 98.717 seconds
9. Sheldon Creed – 87.462 mph, 98.786 seconds
10. Sammy Smith – 87.394 mph, 98.863 seconds
11. Jesse Love – 87.372 mph, 98.887 seconds
12. Corey Day – 87.361 mph, 98.900 seconds
13. Austin Green – 87.358 mph, 98.903 seconds
14. Taylor Gray – 87.254 mph, 99.021 seconds
15. William Sawalich – 86.928 mph, 99.393 seconds
16. Anthony Alfredo – 86.896 mph, 99.429 seconds
17. Preston Pardus – 86.849 mph, 99.483 seconds
18. Ryan Sieg – 86.798 mph, 99.542 seconds
19. Rajah Caruth – 86.796 mph, 99.544 seconds
20. Nick Sanchez – 86.794 mph, 99.546 seconds
21. Ross Chastain – 86.759 mph, 99.586 seconds
22. Sage Karam – 86.446 mph, 99.947 seconds
23. Harrison Burton – 86.379 mph, 100.024 seconds
24. Blaine Perkins – 86.279 mph, 100.140 seconds
25. Josh Bilicki – 86.275 mph, 100.145 seconds
26. Brennan Poole – 86.236 mph, 100.190 seconds
27. Dean Thompson – 86.192 mph, 100.241 seconds
28. Alex Labbe – 86.191 mph, 100.243 seconds
29. Parker Retzlaff – 86.029 mph, 100.431 seconds
30. Jeremy Clements – 86.003 mph, 100.462 seconds
31. Lavar Scott – 85.984 mph, 100.484 seconds
32. Patrick Staropoli – 85.798 mph, 100.702 seconds
33. Ryan Ellis – Owner Points
34. Jeb Burton – Owner Points
35. Kyle Sieg – Owner Points
36. JJ Yeley – Owner Points
37. Baltazar Leguizamon – Owner Points
38. Austin J. Hill – Owner Points
Upcoming Race and Broadcast Details
The Focused Health 250 at Circuit of the Americas is set to take place on Saturday, February 28, beginning at 3 p.m. ET. The race will be broadcast on the CW Network with live coverage also available on PRN Radio and SiriusXM, offering fans multiple ways to follow the event.
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