Team Penske NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Report
Track: Dover International Speedway: Race 1
Race: Drydene 200
Date: August 22, 2020
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No. 22 PPG Ford Mustang – Austin Cindric
Start: 1st
Stage 1: 1st (Ninth stage win of 2020)
Stage 2: 2nd
Finish: 2nd
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 200/200
Laps Led: 49
Point Standings (ahead of second): 1st (+72)
Notes:
Austin Cindric and the No. 22 PPG Ford Mustang team won a stage and finished a close second in the Drydene 200 Saturday afternoon at Dover International Speedway. The Mooresville, N.C. native led 49 laps and racked up his seventh consecutive finish second or better. Cindric leads all drivers with nine stage wins this season and has finished eighth or better in five starts at Dover. The driver of the No. 22 PPG Ford Mustang continues to lead the NXS driver standings, 72 markers ahead of second place, Chase Briscoe.
Cindric started first in the 200-mile, 200-lap race after the field was per the rule book and led wire to wire to win the first 45-lap stage despite his Mustang being tight on exit. Crew chief Brian Wilson called him to pit road during the stage caution for four tires, fuel, and minor adjustments and Cindric restarted second when the race went green on lap 51.
Soon after the race restarted Cindric fell in line third and said he was loose. He had a close call on lap 77 when Chase Briscoe spun while inside Cindric off Turn 2, bringing out the third caution. Cindric restated third and fought back to finish second when Stage 2 concluded on lap 90. Wilson once again made the call to pit during the stage caution for four tires and adjustments to the PPG Ford and Cindric restarted fourth when the race restarted on lap 96.
Cindric wasted no time recapturing the runner-up position, quickly moving up to second. The fifth caution on lap 150 fell within the fuel window to make it to the end of the race. Cindric pitted for service under the yellow and restarted along leader Justin Allgaier on lap 154. But despite his best efforts, the driver of the PPG Ford couldn’t find a way around his rival over the final 46 laps.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to action tomorrow afternoon at Dover, the completion of its doubleheader weekend. The green flag is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET with live coverage on NBCSN, MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio
Quote: “Track position was extremely important. The track didn’t quite move around. When we’d get a restart about 10-15 laps in you could be good being the first guy up or making hay in traffic, but we have some things we can execute better on, but it was a great points day and getting our PPG Mustang in the top three is great and hopefully it’s something to build on for tomorrow.”
