Cindric provides Team Penske owner, Roger Penske, with a special birthday present – the Daytona 500 trophy
February 24, 2021, Concord, NC – If the Daytona 500 was any indication of how the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season will go, we are in store for some awesome racing. In just his eighth NASCAR Cup Series start, rookie Austin Cindric captured the 64th Daytona 500 win by just 0.036 seconds over Bubba Wallace in one of the sport’s closest finishes.
After the departure of Brad Keselowski from Team Penske, Rookie of the Year (ROY) contender, Austin Cindric was tapped to fill the seat of the #2 Ford Mustang. NASCAR hasn’t witnessed a ROY win a race since 2011, and is the first driver in the Cup Series to clinch a 2022 playoff berth.
The 500 saw 35 lead changes among 13 different drivers, with an average race speed of 142.295mph. NASCAR EVP and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’ Donnell spoke after the race and said “The Next Gen performed really well.” For the full video interview, please click here.
The NASCAR Next Gen car is going through the gauntlet in its first three appearances in 2022, a bullring at the LA Coliseum, a Superspeedway at Daytona International Speedway, and next week, an intermediate track at Auto Club Speedway in California. These first three races are providing valuable feedback to teams on the new car’s versatility and dependability.
The Wise Power 400 from Auto Club Speedway kicks off Sunday, February 27th at 3:30pm ET LIVE on FOX.