MADISON, Ill. — Austin Cindric ended an 85-race winless streak Sunday with what he would admit was a third-place car.
Christopher Bell led 80 laps but engine problem with about 17 laps remaining while battling Ryan Blaney cost her a chance at victory, then Blaney – who had led 20 of the previous 21 laps – ran out of gas coming to the white flag, allowing Blaney’s teammate Cindric to race for the World Cup victory. Wide Technology Raceway outside of St. Louis.
“It’s crazy to think that probably the top two cars at the end of that race both had a problem,” Cindric said after the victory at the track commonly known as “Gateway,” a 1.25-mile oval. “The third-placed car wins the race.
“That’s how I look at it. It’s not like I went out and took the lead. But we were in position. One of our best executed races so far this year with probably our best speed we have shown this year.
The son of the Team Penske president who won the 2022 Daytona 500 in his rookie season, Cindric entered the race 20th in the Cup standings and has now qualified for the playoffs.
Team executive vice president Walt Czarnecki said the team has not lost confidence in Cindric.
“He hasn’t lost his desire,” Czarencki said. “It’s a reaffirming situation, a circumstance for him today. … We never lost confidence in Austin Cindric, I promise you that.”
The takeaways after a race where Cindric crossed the finish line were Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Tyler Reddick and Joey Logano.
Cindric Validation
Cindric didn’t make the playoffs last year as he finished 24th in the standings and had just five top-10s after a rookie year in which he posted nine top-10s. Sunday’s win was just its second top-10 finish of the season in a year where Team Penske struggled in the first few months.
“I don’t want to find myself in an acceptable position with a 10th place and say, ‘OK, hey, I finished in the top 10, it’s a great day.’ No, it’s the 10th,” Cindric said. “It’s good, it’s a step forward, but it’s not where I want to be. It’s not the level I’m preparing for. It’s not the level my team is preparing for. expects to perform.
“It’s not enough to race and drive for Team Penske. I know that. No one has to tell me that. There’s no meeting to set up. I take that very personally.”
Austin Cindric talks about his first place finish at the Enjoy Illinois 300
The victory marks the organization’s first victory in a points race in this year’s 15 races. It looked like it would be Blaney over the last 15 laps until Blaney ran out of fuel.
“Before the race today, I went to bed last night knowing that I would be really, really disappointed if one of us didn’t win,” Cindric said. “I’m just happy that we were in position there when (Blaney’s) car 12 went out, to bring home a win because this team deserves it.
“I can’t wait to see everyone at the store again. Everyone has been very supportive, believing in me through the good days and the bad.”
Bell and Blaney disappointment
The two drivers who came away stunned not to have won were Blaney and Bell.
Blaney didn’t know he was about to get gas.
“Obviously it’s disappointing for us — the nut shots kept coming here last month,” Blaney said. “I hope it turns around. I’m proud of the effort. We need to figure out what happened there. We thought we had more fuel than we did.”
Ryan Blaney on running out of fuel two laps from the finish in the Enjoy Illinois 300
Bell’s team wasn’t sure what caused the engine to lose power. Bell said he didn’t think his intense battle with Blaney to try to regain the lead was the cause of the problem.
“I don’t think race has anything to do with it,” Bell said. “It wasn’t our day. No matter where we were, we were going to blow up eventually.”
Larson–Busch entanglement
At the end of the second stage, Kyle Larson I tried to pass inside Kyle Buschand both cars spun, with Busch eventually ending the day and leaving Larson a bit injured before rallying to finish 10th.
“It looked like (Larson) got loose in the first turn,” Busch said. “He was running on older tires and trying to get us a place. I’m not sure what that one point would mean to him, but it certainly hurt us a lot.”
“It took away this point, as well as the others we got for the stage and the rest of the day. It’s very frustrating. We can’t afford days like this.”
Kyle Busch expresses frustration after accident with Kyle Larson
Larson felt Busch was pinching him a bit but felt “it was just a tough race – I don’t have anything bad to say about Kyle.”
“We were getting to the end of that stage, and I was barely better than him and (went to) draft him sideways and barely touched his sideboard,” Larson said. “I guess it pissed him off and he snuck up on me. … I guess he took the air out of me and (we) shot.”
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He spent decades covering motorsports, including more than 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
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