Austin Cindric – Talladega Superspeedway Recap 2016

Austin Cindric (@AustinCindric) climbed from the No. 2 PIRTEK Ford F-150 immediately following the fred’s 250 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway and said that he experienced a lot of what racing at Talladega is all about, and with good reason. The 18-year old did everything from running at the front of the lead pack to bouncing off fellow competitors while maneuvering through a multi-truck accident.  In the end, he was credited with a respectable 20th-place finish.
 
Cindric led Brad Keselowski Racing in qualifying by grabbing the 15th-place starting position in qualifying.  He ran well during the opening segment of the 94-lap, 250-mile race, staying in line in the lead draft. Most of the leaders pitted on lap 16 during the first caution but he, along with teammates Tyler Reddick and Daniel Hemric, remained on the racetrack. Cindric lined up second for the restart on lap 20, leading the outside line.  He stayed in formation until lap 24, when Timothy Peters stacked traffic three-wide and  shuffled him back to 19th-place. He recovered and was up to 11th when the second caution waved on lap 37. Cindric pitted one lap later for right-side tires and fuel and lined up 11th when the race restarted on lap 40.
 
On lap 44, Cindric was running behind teammates Daniel Hemric and Tyler Reddick when John Wes Townley spun while running at the front of the pack on lap 44. All three BKR trucks made contact in a chain reaction effect while trying to avoid the accident, with all three vehicles receiving varying degrees of damage. Cindric pitted on lap 46 for four tires and restarted 12th when the race went back green on lap 49.
 
He was still running in 12th position when the fourth caution slowed the field on lap 52.  One lap later, he made a stop for fuel only, but pitted again on lap 54 for four tires and repairs to the nose of his Ford F-150. Cindric returned to the track and restarted from the 26th position when the race went back green on lap 57.
 
Cindric did a good job on the following restart, picking off six positions by lap 60. On lap 61, Ben Rhodes spun at the entrance to Turn 1, triggering a 14-truck pileup.  Despite his best effort, Cindric couldn’t pick his way cleanly through the melee.  The No. 2 team worked feverishly during the ensuing caution period to make repairs to their damaged vehicle.  Cindric returned to the race and was credited with a 20th-place finish in the final rundown.
 

BKR PR