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Austin Cindric

23-Year-Old Driver  
Penske Racing
2022 Cup Stats
Points
291
Starts
13
Wins
1
Poles
1
Top 5
1
Top 10
2
2022 Fantasy Outlook
The 2020 Xfinity Series champion will take over the iconic No. 2 Ford of Penske Racing in the upcoming season and go to work on potential Rookie of the Year campaign. It's going to be a big step for the talented youngster. Filling the shoes of Brad Keselowski is no easy task. There will be a lot of expectations and associated pressure with this promotion. For a 23-year-old rookie to take over a flagship ride is never easy. Fortunately, Cindric got in seven Cup Series starts last year and that will help with his transition. He showed some flashes of ability in those starts, and the experience will help in 2022. Cindric will be paired with crew chief Jeremy Bullins and the two will look to quickly figure out the new Next-Gen car and get to work on some good finishes. It will be an up-and-down typical rookie season for sure, but Cindric should have the inside track on winning the ROTY award in the upcoming season. Read Past Outlooks
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Car No. 2 Ford
Crew Chief Jeremy Bullins
Rookie Year 2017
Birth Date 9/2/1998
Born Mooresville, North Carolina, United States
Country UNITED STATES
Fast Darlington Practice
NASCAR Cup
May 7, 2022
Cindric was fastest in Happy Hour practice for the Goodyear 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway Saturday afternoon. He turned a fast lap of 167.271 mph.
ANALYSIS
The Penske Racing youngster led this lone session for Sunday's Goodyear 400. Cindric edged Joey Logano by 0.133-seconds to turn the fastest lap of the practice. The driver of the No. 2 Ford has had it pretty tough of late. Cindric will look to rebound to the Top 10 in Sunday at Darlington Raceway.
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Austin Cindric
DFS NASCAR: AdventHealth 400
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Kyle Larson is a favorite this week given how good he was at the track last season, including a win in the fall race.
DFS NASCAR: Goodyear 400
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12 days ago
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For a raceway that's renowned for its difficulty, C.J. Radune recommends adding three-time Darlington winner Martin Truex Jr. to your lineup.
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19 days ago
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NASCAR Barometer: Chastain Wins at Talladega
NASCAR Barometer: Chastain Wins at Talladega
23 days ago
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Ross Chastain stuck to the inside line on the final lap Sunday at the GEICO 500 to become just the second driver this season to win multiple races.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
The 2020 Xfinity Series champion will return to defend his title in 2021. The Penske Racing star built on a very good 2019 campaign and drove to six wins and 26 Top-10 finishes last season to claim the Xfinity Series crown. Cindric will once again drive the strong No. 22 Ford and the team will return all major parts, including crew chief Brian Wilson. The 22-year-old driver proved himself to be a strong driver, and very gifted at the road circuits. Cindric collected two of his six victories on those challenging courses. With NASCAR doing even more racing on these style tracks in the upcoming season, it only adds to the value that this driver and team bring to the table. Cindric should challenge to equal or exceed the six wins he posted last season, and will once again be a top contender to win the championship.
Cindric was the most improved driver of last season's second half. After a slow start in the Penske Racing No. 22 Ford, the young driver came on strong and posted three pole positions and two victories in the final half of 2019. While Cindric didn't race for the championship at Homestead, he still finished a respectable fifth-place in the driver points. The 14 Top-5 and 24 Top-10 finish campaign was a good salvage job to a slow start to last season. Cindric will now take what he's learned in 67-career starts in this division of NASCAR and apply it in the upcoming season. He'll once again be paired with Brian Wilson and resume the good work they started last season. We should see an increase in wins and Top 5 totals. The youngster will give Justin Allgaier a good run for the money in the championship chase.
Cindric gets a major upgrade in status for 2019. He takes over the full-time driving duties for the strong No. 22 Ford of Penske Racing. This is the car that has been piloted by multi-driver Cup stars over the last several seasons. Last season alone this team accounted for six victories, 19 Top-5 and 25 Top-10 finishes between its five-driver lineup. Cindric nabbed six Top-5 and nine Top-10 finishes of that overall performance. He'll have to step up his game in the upcoming season, and we believe he will. Cindric is taking over one of the most elite teams in the Xfinity Series garage. After finishing eighth in the final driver standings last year, racing for multiple teams, the consistency of showing up each week in the No. 22 Ford Mustang will do wonders.
With the closure of Brad Keselowski's truck series operation, Briscoe and Cindric became two very good young drivers in search of a ride. Roush Fenway Racing stepped in and revived their No. 60 team in an opportunistic situation. This team was named Ford's development driver team, and the two truck series aces will head up the effort. Majeski is a 23-year-old product of kart racing and late model stocks. He made three starts for this team in 2017, and collected a Top-10 finish in the season finale at Homestead. The driver distribution for this team has yet to be announced, but we can only imagine it will be a heavy dose of Cindric and Briscoe, followed by a lesser dose of Majeski. This team should be pretty competitive given the talent behind the wheel.
Cindric replaces Daniel Hemric in the No. 19 Ford F-150 this season. The 18-year-old from Columbus, Ohio has just six-combined truck series starts over the last two years. Cindric's NASCAR experience is limited and spread all over the lower divisions of the sport. So this will be a baptism by fire as he takes on his first full schedule in a national touring series. Veteran crew chief Doug Randolph will help ease this transition and bend this sharp learning curve just a bit. Hemric posted 11 Top-5 and 17 Top-10 finishes in this truck last season en route to a strong sixth-place finish in the driver standings. We don't believe Cindric will have this ability right out of the gate, but he could grow to that level of performance in time.
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Crash and DNF at Dover
NASCAR Cup
May 2, 2022
Cindric crashed and finished 36th in the rain-delayed DuraMAX Drydene 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway Monday afternoon.
ANALYSIS
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Going to rear at Richmond
NASCAR Cup
April 3, 2022
Cindric will start Sunday's Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway from the rear for unapproved adjustments, Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports reports.
ANALYSIS
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Leads Phoenix Practice
NASCAR Cup
March 12, 2022
Cindric was fastest in Happy Hour practice for the Ruoff Mortgage 500k NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway Saturday. He turned a fast lap of 131.090 mph.
ANALYSIS
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Wins Fontana Pole Position
NASCAR Cup
February 26, 2022
Cindric won the pole for the WISE Power 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway Saturday afternoon. He turned a fast lap of 174.647 mph.
ANALYSIS
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Wins Daytona 500
NASCAR Cup
February 20, 2022
Cindric won the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway Sunday afternoon.
ANALYSIS
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