AUSTIN, Texas — A debut can be overwhelming for any driver, but 17-year-old Brent Crews was cool, calm and collected in his inaugural O’Reilly Auto Parts Series start as he finished sixth Saturday at Circuit of The Americas.
The rising prospect in the Toyota Racing camp made his anticipated first appearances after missing the opening races at Daytona International Speedway and EchoPark Speedway due to age eligibility and shined under the Texas sun, snagging a handful of laps led and keeping the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing hot rod clean amid another hectic run to the end for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at the 2.4-mile road course.
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“I feel like today was just a big learning day,” Crews said. “My first start, obviously. Just overall, I wanted to finish and keep the car in one piece, and we did that. There was some things I feel like I could have done better there at the end. I’ve been here so many times where you gain a row or two rows taking the outside and then they all get wiped out. It was a tough day. It was a long, hot day, and we survived.”
Crews made a big impression in Stage 2, asserting himself at the front of the field on a restart and making it four-wide up the hill to Turn 1 to take the lead while passing the likes of fellow road-course aces in Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch.
Crews paced the field for five laps before van Gisbergen got back by the No. 19 Toyota, but Crews’ ability caught the eye of the New Zealander, who ultimately went on to grab the checkered flag Saturday.
“That was awesome to watch,” van Gisbergen said of Crews. “He was driving like crazy. I couldn’t drive like that. I’d be worn out in two laps. He was just crazy on the limit and it was really cool to watch. He looks like he’s an amazing talent and I’m sure he’ll be really good in not much time. It’s fun to race him, but kind of knew [battling for the lead] was not gonna last long.”
Because Crews will not turn 18 until March 30, he will miss two of the next three O’Reilly events at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Darlington Raceway. But the teenager will return to action next Saturday as the circuit shifts west to Phoenix Raceway on March 7 (7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Points racing isn’t on Crews’ mind though and isn’t the main goal as he makes his opening few O’Reilly starts, and COTA was mission accomplished for the rookie with an impressive, clean debut that will put him on the map in the series.
“It was a lot, right? I’m a rookie, and as a rookie here, you’re at everybody else’s fate,” Crews said. “Just trying to make good decisions there at the end and not put myself in a position to get crashed or run into a crash. It was a lot of fun. This is something I’ve been looking forward to for the past 10 years and it was everything I’ve expected, and more. Everybody’s really aggressive and really good. The cars are really close and just excited to be right where I am.”