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Austin Cindric worked with his team-mate Ryan Blaney over the closing lap to secure his first Daytona 500 trophy. The Team Penske drivers followed one rule on Sunday to "not wreck each other". Cindric's win, however, would not have been possible without Blaney's help.
After winning the NASCAR Cup Series season opener, Cindric appreciated his team-mate's efforts and said:
“Oh, my God. I’ve got so many people to thank. First and foremost Roger Penske, happy birthday. Oh, my gosh. Appreciate Ryan being a great teammate. Obviously, he wants to win this one, but I’m so pumped for Discount Tire, Menards, Ford. Everybody works so hard with this Next Gen car, through this whole process, and damn, I am so excited.”
Driving Ford Mustang #2, Cindric held off Bubba Wallace Jr. in overtime to win the 64th edition of the Great American Race. In achieving this feat, he also became the second-youngest driver after Trevor Bayne, who was just 20 years of age when he tasted victory in 2011.
The win marked Team Penske’s third Daytona 500 victory. Earlier, Ryan Newman lifted the trophy in 2008 followed by Joey Logano in 2015.
Austin Cindric’s success at Daytona International Speedway
Rookie Austin Cindric won NASCAR's biggest sporting event on Sunday, but that wasn’t his first win at Daytona. The 23-year-old started his 2021 Xfinity Series season with an overtime victory in the Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. 300. The next day, he made his Daytona 500 debut, driving a part-time car for Team Penske. He took a two-lap lead before crashing on the last lap to finish the race in 15th position.
The talented rising driver had made his Xfinity Series debut in 2018. In the same season, he qualified for the playoffs and finished eighth. Two years later, he won his first Xfinity championship and was the runner-up last season.
Last year, Cindric was promoted from the Xfinity Series to replace Brad Keselowski. The news was announced by Team Penske that he would drive the outgoing Keselowski's Ford Mustang #2 in 2022.
