Cindric gives Penske a Saturday sweep
INDIANAPOLIS — Austin Cindric went for the win Saturday. AJ Allmendinger and Justin Haley opted for the points.
It proved to be the difference at Indianapolis.
Cindric took the lead to start the third stage of the NASCAR
Xfinity Series race and pulled away for his series-leading fifth win of the the season. He beat Allmendinger by 2.108 seconds, and the defending series champ gave Team Penske its second win of the day at the Brickyard. Haley finished third.
“I can’t even begin to put into words what it means to win at Indianapolis,” Cindric said after celebrating by singing “Back Home Again In Indiana” while crossing the yard of bricks. “It’s a racer’s dream, man. It’s not the win. It’s getting here, being able to compete and the guys here know what that means.”
Cindric dumped water on his father, Penske president Tim Cindric, before kissing the yard of bricks. The elder Cindric went to victory lane earlier Saturday, too, when Will Power won the IndyCar race.
The younger Cindric’s grandfather, Jim Trueman, also went to victory lane with Bobby Rahal in 1986. Trueman died 11 days later. His other grandfather, Carl Cindric, built a high-performance racing engine. He died in March, and Tim Cindric said he was thinking about both men as the race ended.
Austin Cindric now has a chance to give Penske a clean sweep of crossover weekend when today’s Brickyard 200 is run on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course. It’s scheduled to be his final Cup start of the season before he moves into Penske’s No. 2 Ford full-time next season.
By qualifying second, like Power, he avoided getting involved in the chaotic first-lap start that sent multiple cars spinning and colliding through those turns. The front end of two cars actually went airborne before landing safely on the track.
Track officials were seen inspecting the “turtles” after the race, though Cindric had no complaints.
“I think they did a great job with the track,” he said. “I thought it was pretty self-policing, and I think that’s what they were aiming for.”
Still, drivers aggressively tapped and banged their way through the field as they attempted to pass, leaving cars discolored and damaged. Two cars even slid into the infield tire barrier, though neither driver was seriously injured.
After watching Haley beat Riley Herbst to win the first stage and Allmendinger take the second stage under caution, finishing ahead of Haley and Noah Gragson, Cindric made his move by pitting before the stage ended.
Cindric picked up his 13th career Xfinity win.
“You’re proud of him but you also feel relief because you know how bad he wants it,” Tim Cindric said. “Not only to be part of Team Penske, it’s kind of fun to be part of the club, too.”