Cindric races hard to win Xfinity title
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Austin Cindric charged on fresh tires to an overtime win in the Xfinity Series season finale Saturday at Phoenix Raceway, earning his first NASCAR national series championship in the process.
Cindric was already headed toward the victory and the title when favorite Chase Briscoe spun with six laps remaining. It brought out a caution that forced Cindric and his crew into a race-deciding strategy, and they opted for the bold call.
Cindric handed fellow championship contender Justin Allgaier the lead by pitting for new tires, a move that dropped the 21-year-old driver’s Team Penske No. 22 Ford to third for the two-lap overtime shootout. Cindric didn’t once sweat the decision because he’d played loose headed into the finale after a disappointing run through the playoffs.
It was Cindric’s sixth win of the year but first of this postseason.
“You’d think I’d be nervous this entire weekend, but given how important this race was for me and my team, I was happy to be here, happy to be racing for a championship, and that mentality has paid off,” said Cindric, the regular-season champion. “I’ve been points racing for the last six weeks, and I got to drive my (butt) off for one day.”
Allgaier of JR Motorsports had taken new tires on the previous pit stop — he and Cindric were on opposite strategies — and restarted as the leader. He chose the top lane, and Cindric chose to start up there, too, right behind Allgaier.
Cindric had to first wrestle with Noah Gragson, one of Allgaier’s teammates, for position before he got his shot at Allgaier. Gragson moved to the lead, and then Cindric bounced off Allgaier as the two took the white flag.
Cindric cleared Allgaier and, even though he didn’t have to win the race to win the title, he chased down Gragson for extra measure. Cindric led 72 laps and was in control until the spin by Briscoe, who won nine races this year and is moving up to Cup Series competition in 2021.
Allgaier wound up fifth after leading a race-high 76 laps, while Briscoe was ninth, one spot behind Justin Haley, the other title-eligible driver.
Exciting finish
Sheldon Creed gambled on new tires for a two-lap overtime and snatched the Truck Series championship away from teammate Brett Moffitt late Friday night.
Moffitt was cruising to what would have been his second title in three years when a spin brought out a caution in the season finale for NASCAR’s third-tier national series. Creed was one of 14 drivers to pit for fresh tires, restarted eighth and figured he’d watch Moffitt win the title for the team.
Moffitt was a sitting duck as the leader on four old tires, though — he was passed immediately on the restart and faded all the way to 10th as the field cruised by him. Creed dashed to the lead in the No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado just before taking the white flag, then led the final overtime lap for the first Truck Series championship of his career.
“I pride myself on my restarts. We just needed a good restart right there,” Creed said. “I just went as hard as I could. I knew if I did, I’d have a shot.”
The rowdy Truck Series had been a demolition derby during the playoffs, but the finale was free of such trouble until Dawson Cram was spun to bring out the late caution and force extra laps. Creed, an X-Games gold medalist and two-time Stadium Super Trucks Series champion, won for the fifth time this season, giving him the most victories in the series this year.
With Creed, Moffitt and rookie Zane Smith, who wound up second, GMS Racing had three of the four drivers who were eligible for the season championship. After being locked out of the Cup Series title round since 2016, Chevy has strong contenders this year in all three of NASCAR’s national circuits. That includes Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott, who will compete with Toyota driver Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing and Ford drivers Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano for the Cup Series title today.
ThorSport Racing’s Grant Enfinger, the other title-eligible driver in the Truck Series finale, finished Friday’s race 13th in the No. 98 Ford F-150.
Daytona plans
NASCAR president Steve Phelps believes spectators will be permitted at the Daytona 500 when the 2021 Cup Series schedule opens in February. The series prides itself on its accessibility and is working on plans to get fans back into the infield at tracks and perhaps reopen the garages beyond essential personnel.
It was one of the topics Phelps covered Saturday during the annual state of the sport address, held for the first time via Zoom.
NASCAR does not know if the NFL schedule will go longer than expected as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, though, and there’s a chance the Super Bowl could be played in Tampa on the same day the Daytona 500 runs just two hours away.
“I don’t want to speculate what would happen with the 500 if the NFL were to put the Super Bowl on February 14th,” Phelps said. “We’ll react to that at that particular time.”