The NASCAR O’Reilly race at COTA had plenty of action, and when race winner Shane van Gisbergen spoke after the race, his tone was relaxed but clearly impressed. The New Zealander had just won for the first time at COTA, yet he spent a good chunk of time talking about what he saw from a young driver who was not expected to lead laps.
That driver was Brent Crews, who suddenly found himself at the front of the field during Stage 2, and for Gisbergen, it was something he enjoyed seeing up close.
Brent Crews Turns Heads During the Race
Crews made history during the event by becoming the youngest driver to lead a lap in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at COTA, and that moment came during a restart when he charged into Turn 1 and managed to get past experienced drivers around him.
Gisbergen admitted afterward that the move stood out immediately and explained that Crews was driving extremely hard from the very beginning, “That was awesome to watch. At the start, he was driving like crazy. I couldn’t drive like that; I’d be worn out in two laps. But yeah, I saw him doing burnouts, and I knew it would be a matter of time, but he was just crazy on the limit, and it was really cool to watch and really close to the bundles and off the track.”
The comment sounded like genuine respect from the NASCAR road course king who has spent years racing at the highest level across different series.
For a young driver in his first experiences against seasoned competitors, simply leading laps is a big statement, but Crews stayed competitive throughout the race and, by the time the event wrapped up, had secured a strong top-10 finish.
Shane Van Gisbergen’s Perspective From the Front
Gisbergen has become one of the most talked-about drivers in stock car racing over the last year. After transitioning from success in Supercars, he quickly built a reputation as a road-course specialist in NASCAR.
His calm style and technical driving approach often stand out, especially on tracks with complex corners, and that is part of why his praise for Crews carried weight after the race.
He also mentioned how fun it was to race against Crews at COTA, “he looks like he’s an amazing talent, and I’m sure he’d be really good in not much time. So yeah, it’s fun to race him, but I kind of knew it was going to not last long.”
Another interesting element of the race was Connor Zilisch, who is also considered one of the rising stars in NASCAR road racing. Zilisch and Gisbergen started near the front and were expected to battle for the win, but Zilisch ran into trouble during the race after dealing with a brake issue that sent him to the back of the field.
Before that problem occurred, both drivers were surprised when Crews suddenly appeared and made the bold move for the lead, which created one of the most talked-about sequences of the event.
Gisbergen later joked about some of the interactions on track as well regarding hand signals, “I still find that fun, and Connor and I were having fun. He was telling me which number his car was a couple of times, which is nice. Yeah, it was cool. It was nice of those guys to let me through on the inside, so I was just waving.”
Looking ahead, Gisbergen still has another challenge waiting as he’s preparing to start deeper in the field for the Cup race today and hopes to continue his impressive streak on road and street circuits.
Performances like that of Crews do not guarantee anything in racing, but they do make people pay attention, and that is usually how a reputation starts to build in NASCAR.
