Team Penske NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Report
Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course
Race: Pennzoil 150
Date: July 4, 2020
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No. 22 Menards/Richmond Ford Mustang – Austin Cindric
Start: 10th
Stage 1: 1st (4th stage win of 2020)
Stage 2: 12th
Finish: 5th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 62/62
Laps Led: 21
Point Standings (behind first): 4th (-61)
Notes:
Austin Cindric scored his fourth stage win of the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series season on the way to a claiming fifth-place in the Pennzoil 150 Saturday afternoon at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. The driver of the No. 22 Menards/Richmond Ford Mustang led 21 laps and racked up his seventh top-five finish of the season. He sits fourth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver standings, 61 markers behind leader Chase Briscoe.
Cindric started the 62-lap, 151-mile race 10th after the starting lineup was set by a random draw. The 21-year-old wasted no time getting to the front, taking over the race lead by lap 4. Cindric never looking back, winning Stage 1 when the segment ended on lap 20. Crew chief Brian Wilson made the call to pit during the stage caution for four tires, fuel, and no adjustments and Cindric restarted sixth when the race went green on lap 23.
The Mooresville, N.C., native dodged traffic to take the runner-up position before the race was slowed by the third caution on lap 25. When the race went green on lap 28, Cindric was penalized for a restart violation and served a pass-through penalty two laps later. He rejoined the field in 31st position but over the final laps of the stage, Cindric worked his way through the pack. He rallied to finish 12th when Stage 2 ended on lap 40.
The final stage went green on lap 43 with Cindric scored in 11th position. Once again, the driver of the Menards/Richmond Ford wasted little time in working his way back inside the top-five. A caution on lap 51 set up a final round of pit stops among the leaders. Cindric lined up sixth for the five-lap sprint to the finish. The final laps were as suspenseful as they were entertaining, with Cindric, AJ Allmendinger and Chase Briscoe racing hard for the lead, often battling three-wide. Cindric and Allmendinger made contact while racing hard just behind Briscoe. Cindric survived the contact to cross the finish line in fifth position when the checkered flag waved on lap 62.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series is back in action with the Kentucky Speedway doubleheader next week. The first race will take place on Thursday, July 9 at 8:00 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Race number two is scheduled for Friday, July 10 at 8:00 p.m. ET, with live coverage on FS1, PRN, and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
Quote: “Obviously we were racing really hard for the win and the thing about these cars is you have to be all the way on the inside to make a move and I probably didn’t quite commit to the areas where I could have used a bit more of my car. I feel like that as my missed opportunity. I am not sure how many more opportunities I had other than the ones that I knew I could take. I feel like the opportunity was there. The 98 drove off the race track and the seas kind of parted for me and AJ was driving extremely defensive and I feel like that is why I was able to stay with him but I just couldn’t quite seal the deal.”
