Driver Press Recap

Indianapolis, IN

NASCAR Cup drivers were available to the press Saturday morning/afternoon and had much to say about their cars, and the track, here at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as well as the possibility of switching the set up and new additions to the course.  

The biggest topic was the addition of a start/restart zone and everyone that spoke about it today was in favor of it. Martin Truex, Jr. said he is glad there is a start/restart zone and he thinks it  won’t be 5-6 cars wide, like it had been. He does think that there would still be some darting in, but he thinks it will be calmer. When asked if he thought it should have been single file, he said he didn’t think that was in NASCAR’s vocabulary.

One of the rumors swirling around is that the Brickyard may go back to the oval. It seems as though emotions are mixed on the driver’s end of things. Christopher Bell likes the track here, it’s a fun place, but is looking forward to perhaps being on the oval. Denny Hamlin definitely prefers the oval, “we’re crossing over the bricks in the wrong direction.” He would rather run the oval. Martin Truex, Jr likes that there are lots of opportunity to run road courses. And Austin Cindric said, as long as he was in Indy, it was all pretty cool to him. 

The other thing that the drivers were talking about was the opinion some drivers had that the last few races didn’t matter. Truex vehemently disagreed. He said that every race was important. He was trying to lock down bonus point for the playoffs. And Austin Cindric feels like they have the best chance to get a win here at Indy.

I guess the thing that sums it up the best is when Austin Cindric said, “As long as I’m in Indy, it’s pretty cool to me.”

Austin Cindric won Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race and captured the championship at Phoenix Raceway.

Cindric passed Justin Allgaier on the final lap of the race to win the race and claim his first Xfinity Series championship.

The overtime restart was set up when championship contender Chase Briscoe spun out with just three laps to go. Allgaier would restart in the lead after deciding to stay out under caution. Cindric would came to pit road, giving up his lead. Cindric would restart third.

The two drivers made contact with Noah Grayson coming to the white flag as Cindric made it three wide between Allgaier and Gragson.

“I’m speechless. I’m pretty humbled by the effort,” Cindric told NBCSN post-race.

Rounding out the top five were Noah Gragson in second, Brandon Jones in third, Michael Annett finished fourth and Justin Allgaier finished fifth.

For Cindric, this marks his sixth victory of the 2020 season. Driver No. 22 will return to his Xfinity Series ride next year before going to Cup in 2022.

Chase Briscoe, who won a Xfinity Series-high of nine races, finished ninth.

“Frustrating day,” Briscoe told NBCSN post-race. “I’ve got to do a lot better job coming here. Something about this place I struggle with.”

Rounding out the top ten were Harrison Burton in sixth, Ross Chastain in seventh, Justin Haley in eighth, Chase Briscoe in ninth and Jeremy Clements in tenth.

Harrison Burton, who finished sixth won the rookie of the year title. 

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will kick off their 2021 season at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 13, 2021.

Stage 1 Winner: Chase Briscoe

Stage 2 Winner: Austin Cindric

Race Winner: Austin Cindric

Austin Cindric won Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Daytona International Speedway road course.

Driver No.22 passed Brandon Jones for the lead with five laps to go in the race and would hold command of the lead to win.

“I didn’t feel I drove my best today but we executed,” Cindric told NBCSN post-race.

For Cindric, this marks his fifth victory in the last six races. Cindric’s five total victories ties him with Chase Briscoe for the most thus far in the 2020 Xfinity Series season.

Rounding out the top five were Brandon Jones in second, Noah Gragson in third, AJ Allmendinger in fourth and Andy Lally in fifth.

Noah Gragson, who finished third earned his top 10 finish in all road course starts in the Xfinity Series.

After a restart with seven laps to go several drivers lost control of their car in Turn 1. Playoff contender Chase Briscoe was involved. He ran into the back of Allmendinger. That would end Briscoe’s race and he would finish 29th.

Rounding out the top ten were Jeremy Clements in sixth, Riley Herbst in seventh, Harrison Burton in eighth, Justin Allgaier in ninth and Myatt Snider in tenth.

Justin Allgaier, who finished ninth, had a post-race confrontation with AJ Allmendinger for spinning him out late in the race while Allgaier was running third at the time.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will head to Dover on Saturday, August. 22 at 12:30 p.m. Eastern on NBCSN.

Stage 1 Winner: Austin Cindric

Stage 2 Winner: Chase Briscoe

Race Winner: Austin Cindric

Kyle Busch, who was originally declared the winner of Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway car failed post-race inspection. Busch’s car failed height measurements for the left rear. Austin Cindric, who crossed the finish line in second would be declared the winner following Busch’s disqualification.

Busch would be scored last in the 37 car field.

Joe Gibbs Racing has until 12 noon on Monday to appeal.

“No matter how it happens, it’s great to win,” Cindric said post-race. “Everyone has to play in the same sandbox.”

With his win on Saturday, Cindric has won three races in a row, with his sweep at last weekends Kentucky doubleheader.

“A win’s a win and it’s good for our team,” Cindric said post-race. “It’s good for momentum and it’s good for points.”

Rounding out the top five were Chase Briscoe in second, Justin Allgaier in third, Harrison Burton in fourth and Michael Annett in fifth.

Chase Briscoe, who finished second currently leads the NASCAR Xfinity Series points standings over race-winner Austin Cindric by 24 points.

Rounding out the top ten were Jeb Burton in sixth, Brandon Jones in seventh, Justin Haley in eighth, Ross Chastain in ninth and Brandon Brown in tenth.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Kansas Speedway next Saturday, July 25th in the running of the Kansas Lottery 250. Coverage begins at 5:00 p.m. Eastern on NBCSN.

Stage 1 Winner: Justin Allgaier

Stage 2 Winner: Justin Allgaier

Race Winner: Austin Cindric

After trying to save fuel during the final caution period, Austin Cindric scores his first career oval win in the Crosley Brands 150 at Kentucky Speedway. He is the eighth different first time winner in ARCA Racing Series in 2016.

“I think coming here to test on Tuesday was really great. I was a bit worried heading into the race about how we were and how the whole field was really going to be able to race together, especially based on the Xfinity race in July. I think we produced a great show. I was able to use about half the high lane and able to cut under people. The car was working really well giving credit to Brian and the guys, giving us great pit stops and track position giving us the lead. I tried not to get back,” said Cindric in a post-race media availability.

The first half of the race started out with a caution for a spin by Bret Holmes. The drivers were waiting for the Goodyear rubber laid down by the NASCAR Xfinity Series to burn off during the opening laps. Chase Briscoe, who did not have a chance to take long runs in practice, fell back to third before the second caution came out for a hard hit by Sarah Cornett-Ching. After a long pit-stop by Shane Lee, Matt Tifft took the lead. Cindric took the lead a couple laps before the caution flew again for a chuck of debris seen after he hit the debris. As the laps winded down in the first half of there race, John Wes Townley took the lead as Cindric and Briscoe were battling for position. As the halfway point was reached, Cindric grabbed the lead at the line moving Townley to second, Tifft was third, Briscoe was fourth, and Lee rounded out the top-five.

As the second half of the race began, Tifft and Cindric continued to battle for the lead. As the second half moved along, the battle for the lead had settled. The caution flew for a spin by Mark Thompson. As the race began to wind down, strategy began to come into play. Tires were not falling off. Townley and Briscoe wreck on the final restart. The second caution was brought out by Kyle Weatherman who made contact with Lee. As the race was going into green-white-checkered finish, the leaders were trying to save fuel. Sergeant finished second, Tifft finished third, Tom Hessert finished fourth, and Matt Kurzejewski rounded out the top-five.

The points leader, Briscoe, had the chance to clinch the championship tonight by finishing seventh or better tonight. However, those hopes came to a crashing halt after an accident with Townley on the backstretch. In order to win the championship, Briscoe will have to just make one lap.  He finished 22nd tonight.

The margin of victory was 0.528 seconds. The caution flew six times for 41 laps. The time of race was 1 hour, 27 minutes, and 55 seconds. The average speed was 104.466 mph. Cindric led three times for a total of 64 laps, Lee led once at 25 laps, Tifft led one at seven laps, and Townley led once for six laps.

The ARCA Racing Series will conclude the 2016 season at Kansas Speedway on October 14th. The race will be on Fox Sports 1 at 8:30PM EST.