The season has solely simply begun and Austin Cindric has discovered himself a tough behavior of being in the best place on the unsuitable time. Sunday, the No. 2 Workforce Penske Ford driver was main with simply 10 laps to go at Atlanta. Every week earlier, he was main the sphere to the white flag on the Daytona 500. However in each circumstances, he was swallowed out by a wreck he did not begin, and was denied a good shot at victory.
“It was unlucky. As a crew, as Fords, we had one of the best automobiles right here this weekend,” mentioned Cindric after being launched from the infield care heart. “We put ourselves into place to win the race and obtained used up and into the fence and didn’t win the race. It’s a disgrace. Two weeks in a row I really feel like we have now had the automotive to beat and haven’t accomplished it. A technique or one other it’s disappointing.”
At Daytona, Cindric was main the within lane when Cole Custer pinched the leaders, gathering Cindric and ending his probability of turning into a two-time winner of the Daytona 500. This weekend, he was able to doubtlessly win but once more, when Kyle Larson made a daring transfer up the within, and began pushing up regardless of not being fully clear. Whereas Larson snatched the lead away, Cindric was moved up into the skin wall earlier than crashing into the within wall — ending any probability he had on the win or an honest end.
“Yeah, just a bit little bit of a lazy type of up the observe,” mentioned Larson when requested concerning the incident. “He obtained there somewhat bit faster than I assumed he would. I assumed he was going to choose me up on the exit at [Turn] two. Yeah, that was most likely my fault. I have never seen a replay, however I am certain that was my fault.”
It is particularly heart-wrenching for Cindric, who solely has two wins since turning into a full-time Cup driver in 2022. And but, he is led 106 laps between the primary two races of the 2025 season regardless of having little to indicate for it. By comparability, he solely led 256 laps whole all of final 12 months.
Learn Additionally:
On this article
Nick DeGroot
NASCAR Cup
Kyle Larson
Austin Cindric
Be the primary to know and subscribe for real-time information electronic mail updates on these subjects
Subscribe to information alerts
