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Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric posted the second-fastest speed at 137.775 mph in the final round of Saturday's qualifying Cup race at the World Wide Technology Raceway. The 23-year-old will share the front row with Chase Briscoe on Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300.
During a post-qualifying interview, Cindric expressed his disappointment at losing the pole for Sunday’s inaugural Cup race by just one spot.
He went on to say that he didn’t want to lose to Briscoe. He also added that he had a pretty good run, but didn't do well enough. He concluded that P2 was also a good place to start the race.
Cindric said:
“Yeah, you want to sell the pole. Top six is probably what you want for pit selection as far as openings in and out and really narrow pit roads. So yeah, I don't wanna get beat by Chase ever.
"But it's a good weekend for the Fords and the only thing that pissed me off is that he screwed up the lap and you still beat everybody by like a 10th. So I thought I had a pretty good lapse but not good enough. But overall, it's a good place to start.”
The Columbus native was the third fastest (136.104 mph) during a practice session on Friday, which gave him the first experience at the WWTR track. Cindric was near the top of the speed chart throughout Saturday’s qualifying.
Ford had a great qualifying on Saturday as six Ford drivers finished in the top-10; Chase Briscoe claimed the pole, followed by Cindric in P2, Ryan Blaney in P5, Joey Logano in P7 and Aric Almirola in P8. The youngest driver of the season, Harrison Burton, finished P9.
“I think we're still learning strengths and weaknesses from each camp” - Austin Cindric
Austin Cindric is having a topsy-turvy performance in the ongoing 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season. He has recorded just two top-10 finishes along with a Daytona win.
Further, in the interview, the rookie driver stated that he is learning from each outing about his strengths and weaknesses. He added that he wants to be the best driver on every type of racetrack.
Cindric said:
“I think we're still learning strengths and weaknesses from each camp. That obviously. So you want to be the best at every type of racetrack. But I'm not saying the ship is sinking right now by any means. I mean, obviously we're pretty strong enough. Fast cars.”
Catch Austin Cindric at the World Wide Technology Raceway on Sunday, June 5 at 3:30 pm ET.
