Happy Birthday, Captain! Austin Cindric Wins the Daytona 500

Chris O'Meara - AP Photo

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DAYTONA BEACH, FL – RIS – Feb 20, 2022  - It just happened to be his birthday and Roger Penske must have been smiling.  His Ford Mustangs with Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, and Austin Cindric leading the way all day, it looked like it may not work out for ‘The Captain’, but Cindric drove masterfully in the final two-lap overtime to win the Great American Race, by a fender over Bubba Wallace.

It was with the drafting help from Team Penske teammate Blaney, that Cindric was able to fend off three different challengers on the final lap of the Daytona 500 to win The Great American Race and earn his first NASCAR Cup Series win. After being pushed clear and away from Brad Keselowski on the outside lane, Cindric blocked Blaney as he cut to the outside off the final corner, then beat a hard-charging Bubba Wallace to the start/finish line to take the checkered flag.

Cindric is the ninth driver in history to earn his first career Cup win in the Daytona 500, and the second in a row to do so. Cindric now joins a group that includes Tiny Lund (1965), Mario Andretti (1967), Pete Hamilton (1970), Derrike Cope (1990), Sterling Marlin (1994), Michael Waltrip (2001), Trevor Bayne (2011), and Michael McDowell (2021).

The way it unfolded was magical in the final laps. The field re-racked for overtime with Cindric lining up on the outside out front with the former driver of his No. 2 Ford, Brad Keselowski, behind him. Cindric quickly dropped low after the restart in front of teammate Ryan Blaney, who tried to move by Cindric on the outside coming down the front stretch.

Cindric blocked Blaney as Wallace ran to his inside, and they drag raced through the finish. Cindric had the edge, finishing 0.036 second ahead of Wallace.

Blaney finished fourth with another Ford driver, Chase Briscoe, securing third.

Cindric, in his first full-time season with Team Penske this year, wished team owner Roger Penske a “Happy Birthday” immediately after the race. Penske turned 85 years old the day of the race.

“What an unbelievable day. What an unbelievable car,” Cindric said.

Cindric remained in contention through multiple multi-car wrecks that took out top drivers. The race was red flagged with nine laps to go after a big run by Kyle Larson behind Kevin Harvick sent Harvick spinning. A lap after the restart, the caution was back out for another wreck involving prior leaders Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Chris Buescher, forcing overtime.

Earlier in the day, other major wrecks took out veterans, including three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, considered a perennial contender. Hamlin was out of the running by the end of the first stage after series rookie Harrison Burton wrecked from the front of the field and collected multiple cars. Burton lost control of his car after aggressive shoving from Keselowski on his bumper, which collected William Byron and Ross Chastain. Alex Bowman and Kyle Busch were also caught up in that accident and their cars suffered some damage.

The first stage ended under caution, and was won by Martin Truex Jr., who swept the first two stages. Truex was involved in a later accident, set off when Tyler Reddick went spinning into the outside wall mid-pack with just fewer than 50 laps remaining. Reddick exited the race. Other top names, such as Joey Logano and Kurt Busch, were caught up in that crash and sent multiple laps down.

It was NASCAR’s younger stars leading the field in the final lap. Cindric, Wallace, Chase Briscoe and Blaney are all under 30 years old, with Cindric being the youngest of them at 23.

As Mike Joy, the lead announcer on the Fox Network said, “He will always be known as Austin Cindric, Daytona 200 Champion.”  And the former Xfinity Champion and NASCAR Cup rookie will have earned that title.

Unofficial Results: 64th Annual DAYTONA 500 - Sunday, February 20, 2022
Fin, St, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 5, Austin Cindric #, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford, 201, , 4, 21, 5, 6, 45, Running
2) 16, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 McDonald's Toyota, 201, , 7, 12, , 3, 43, Running
3) 9, Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford, 201, , , , , , 34, Running
4) 7, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Menards/Blue DEF/PEAK Ford, 201, , 1, 36, , , 33, Running
5) 38, Aric Almirola, No. 10 Smithfield Ford, 201, , , , , , 32, Running
6) 10, Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Toyota, 201, , 4, 28, , , 31, Running
7) 6, Michael McDowell, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, 201, , , , , , 30, Running
8) 34, David Ragan, No. 15 Select Blinds Ford, 201, , , , , , 29, Running
9) 3, Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Kohler Generators Ford, 201, 2, 6, 67, , 4, 44, Running
10) 11, Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 201, 10, , , , , 28, Running
11) 26, Ty Dillon, No. 42 Black Rifle Coffee Company Chevrolet, 201, , , , , , 26, Running
12) 33, Daniel Hemric(i), No. 16 Heritage Pool Supply Group Chevrolet, 201, , , , , , 0, Running
13) 14, Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, 201, 1, 3, 11, 2, 1, 44, Running
14) 24, Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Built.com Chevrolet, 201, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 27, Landon Cassill(i), No. 77 FOX Nation Chevrolet, 201, , , , , , 0, Running
16) 4, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 200, , , , , 7, 25, Running
17) 32, Cody Ware, No. 51 Nurtec ODT Ford, 200, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 21, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 17, Kurt Busch, No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota, 199, 7, , , , , 22, Running
20) 31, Cole Custer, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford, 199, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 20, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 198, 5, 1, 1, , 2, 31, Running
22) 40, * Jacques Villeneuve, No. 27 Hezeberg Engineering Systems Ford, 198, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 25, Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet, 198, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 2, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 197, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 36, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Off Road Chevrolet, 197, 6, 1, 1, , , 17, Running
26) 35, * Kaz Grala(i), No. 50 Pit Viper Sunglasses Chevrolet, 196, , , , , , 11, Running
27) 37, BJ McLeod, No. 78 NASCAR Ignition Ford, 196, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 18, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger/Irish Spring Chevrolet, 194, 4, 3, 16, , 5, 22, Accident
29) 13, Erik Jones, No. 43 FOCUSfactor Chevrolet, 191, 8, 1, 3, , , 11, Accident
30) 22, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Busch Light #BUSCHRACETEAM Ford, 191, , , , , 8, 10, DVP
31) 39, * Noah Gragson(i), No. 62 Beard Oil/South Point Chevrolet, 190, , , , , , 0, Accident
32) 1, Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 190, 9, 1, 1, , 9, 9, Accident
33) 29, Todd Gilliland #, No. 38 First Phase Credit Card Ford, 190, 3, , , , 10, 13, Accident
34) 12, Christopher Bell, No. 20 DeWalt Toyota, 152, , , , , , 3, Accident
35) 15, Tyler Reddick, No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet, 151, , , , , , 2, Accident
36) 28, * Greg Biffle(i), No. 44 Grambling State University Chevrolet, 136, , , , , , 1, Running
37) 30, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, 63, , , , , , 1, Accident
38) 23, William Byron Jr., No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet, 62, , 1, 1, , , 1, Accident
39) 8, Harrison Burton #, No. 21 Motorcraft/DEX Imaging Ford, 62, , 2, 3, , , 1, Accident
40) 19, Ross Chastain, No. 1 Advent Health Chevrolet, 62, , , , , , 1, Accident
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 31 Mins, 53 Secs.
Race Length: 201 Laps, 502.5 Miles
Average Speed: 142.295 MPH
Margin of Victory: .036 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 19, 6, 38, 47, 22, 3, 45, 43, 5, 9
Stage 2 Top 10: 19, 22, 23, 6, 47, 2, 17, 4, 5, 38

Comments: Austin Cindric has won the DAYTONA 500 at Daytona International Speedway, his first career victory in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Prior to the start, the following vehicle (s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason indicated: Nos. 14 and 16 (Multiple Inspection Failures), No. 27 (Engine Change), No. 22 (Back-up Car).

Failed to Qualify: (2) 55 JJ Yeley(i), 66 Timmy Hill(i).

Cautions: 7 for 37 laps;
Laps: 42-45 (No. 2, 14, 50 Incident Turn 2 [16]);
53-56 (Debris Turn 1 [27]);
64-71 (No. 1, 6, 11, 18, 20, 21, 24, 48 Incident Backstretch / Stage 1 Conclusion [16]);
132-137 (Stage 2 Conclusion [16]);
152-159 (No. 8, 19, 22, 27, 45 Incident Frontstretch [15]);
192-194 (No. 4, 5, 9, 38, 43, 62 Incident Frontstretch [Red: 00:05:32] [7]);
196-199 (No. 6, 17, 47 Incident Frontstretch [77]).

Lead Changes: 35 among 13 drivers;
K. Larson 0;
B. Keselowski 1-6;
K. Busch 7;
B. Keselowski 8-26;
K. Busch 27-31;
B. Keselowski 32;
K. Busch 33-37;
R. Stenhouse Jr. 38;
H. Burton # 39;
J. Logano 40;
K. Busch 41-57;
W. Byron Jr. 58;
H. Burton # 59-60;
M. Truex Jr. 61-67;
A. Dillon 68;
E. Jones 69-71;
R. Blaney 72-107;
M. Truex Jr. 108;
B. Wallace 109;
B. Keselowski 110-124;
K. Larson 125;
B. Keselowski 126-129;
M. Truex Jr. 130-132;
B. Wallace 133;
B. Keselowski 134-155;
B. Wallace 156;
A. Cindric # 157-162;
B. Wallace 163-166;
A. Cindric # 167-168;
B. Wallace 169-170;
A. Cindric # 171-175;
B. Wallace 176-177;
R. Stenhouse Jr. 178;
B. Wallace 179;
R. Stenhouse Jr. 180-193;
A. Cindric # 194-201.
Busch Pole Award:  Kyle Larson, No. 5 181.159 mph

Unofficial Points Report, 64th Annual DAYTONA 500, 
Rank, Driver, Car, Starts, GL, Points, Ldr, Nxt, Race Wins, Stage Wins, Playoff Pts
1), Austin Cindric #, 2, 1, 3, 54, 0, 0, 1, 0, 5
2), Brad Keselowski, 6, 1, 0, 54, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
3), Martin Truex Jr., 19, 1, 8, 49, -5, 5, 0, 2, 2
4), Bubba Wallace, 23, 1, 9, 47, -7, 2, 0, 0, 0
5), Chase Briscoe, 14, 1, 3, 41, -13, 6, 0, 0, 0
6), Ryan Blaney, 12, 1, 0, 41, -13, 0, 0, 0, 0
7), Michael McDowell, 34, 1, -4, 39, -15, 2, 0, 0, 0
8), Kyle Busch, 18, 1, -1, 38, -16, 1, 0, 0, 0
9), Chris Buescher, 17, 1, -8, 35, -19, 3, 0, 0, 0
10), Chase Elliott, 9, 1, 0, 34, -20, 1, 0, 0, 0
11), Joey Logano, 22, 1, 6, 33, -21, 1, 0, 0, 0
12), Aric Almirola, 10, 1, 17, 32, -22, 1, 0, 0, 0
13), David Ragan, 15, 1, 14, 29, -25, 3, 0, 0, 0
14), Ty Dillon, 42, 1, 8, 26, -28, 3, 0, 0, 0
15), Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 47, 1, 0, 25, -29, 1, 0, 0, 0
16), Kurt Busch, 45, 1, 2, 24, -30, 1, 0, 0, 0
17), Corey LaJoie, 7, 1, 4, 23, -31, 1, 0, 0, 0
18), Cody Ware, 51, 1, 8, 20, -34, 3, 0, 0, 0
19), Daniel Suarez, 99, 1, 26, 19, -35, 1, 0, 0, 0
20), Cole Custer, 41, 1, 19, 17, -37, 2, 0, 0, 0
21), Austin Dillon, 3, 1, 7, 17, -37, 0, 0, 0, 0
22), Erik Jones, 43, 1, -10, 16, -38, 1, 0, 0, 0
23), * Jacques Villeneuve, 27, 1, 8, 15, -39, 1, 0, 0, 0
24), Justin Haley, 31, 1, 20, 14, -40, 1, 0, 0, 0
25), Alex Bowman, 48, 1, -1, 13, -41, 1, 0, 0, 0
26), Kyle Larson, 5, 1, -12, 13, -41, 0, 0, 0, 0
27), Todd Gilliland #, 38, 1, 13, 13, -41, 0, 0, 0, 0
28), Kevin Harvick, 4, 1, -9, 11, -43, 2, 0, 0, 0
29), BJ McLeod, 78, 1, 7, 10, -44, 1, 0, 0, 0
30), Christopher Bell, 20, 1, -21, 9, -45, 1, 0, 0, 0
31), Harrison Burton #, 21, 1, -26, 9, -45, 0, 0, 0, 0
32), Tyler Reddick, 8, 1, -16, 5, -49, 4, 0, 0, 0
33), Ross Chastain, 1, 1, -13, 2, -52, 3, 0, 0, 0
34), Denny Hamlin, 11, 1, -9, 1, -53, 1, 0, 0, 0
35), William Byron Jr., 24, 1, 8, 1, -53, 0, 0, 0, 0
36), Daniel Hemric(i), 16, 1, 6, 0, -54, 1, 0, 0, 0
37), Landon Cassill(i), 77, 1, 4, 0, -54, 0, 0, 0, 0
38), * Kaz Grala(i), 50, 1, 0, 0, -54, 0, 0, 0, 0
39), * Noah Gragson(i), 62, 1, -4, 0, -54, 0, 0, 0, 0
40), * Greg Biffle(i), 44, 1, -17, 0, -54, 0, 0, 0, 0
41), JJ Yeley, , 0, -4, 0, -54, 0, 0, 0, 0
42), Timmy Hill, , 0, -12, 0, -54, 0, 0, 0, 0
-Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this serie