AUSTIN CINDRIC POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE
AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang — Finished 3rd
WALK US THROUGH THAT INCIDENT WITH CHRISTOPHER BELL AND YOU ARE IN A MUST WIN SITUATION NEXT WEEKEND AT PHOENIX. WHAT IS YOUR APPROACH? “I have been in a must-win position since Kansas. For me that hasn’t changed. I was the car stuck on the bottom with one guy all over my tail and one guy all over my door. I moved up two inches and those were the two inches that the 20 was off my door. I think it is just a racing incident. I don’t think it was anything intentional. We were just racing hard. I knew he was going to be stuck on the top and I wanted to be on the bottom. I don’t see anything further than that. That is his decision to race hard. He was in a points position and I was in a must win position. I don’t’ think there was anything to be done different there. I am just glad we didn’t get caught up in it.”
IS IT CHECKERS OR WRECKERS NEXT WEEKEND AT PHOENIX? “I don’t think it is checkers or wreckers. We still have an owners championship to think about. A lot of people are invested into this 22 car and a lot of success early on in the year. I definitely have that in the back of my mind every lap I do and the crew does as well. We are fighting for two things but a win definitely helps.”
YOU HAD DAMAGE, DID IT AFFECT THE SPEED OF YOUR CAR? “I had damage from lap one of the race when they had that big stack up and I nursed that damage. That damage got worse and then our contact with the 20 later made that worse. We were basically damaged the whole day. I honestly think we had a race winning car and I think that shows in the final stint. That is a testament to the team and the work those guys did over the wall putting braces in the car and get the bear bond in the right spots to not really slow us down. I knew I was compromising a few circumstances but overall I think we had an amazing Ford Mustang today and it was just track position. I wasn’t able to capitalize on that having to come from the back on nearly every restart. It was a lot of fun in the end now that I look back on it and say that I survived.”
