Team Penske NASCAR Xfinity Race Report
Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course
Race: Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard
Date: August 14, 2021
No. 22 PPG Ford Mustang – Austin Cindric
Start: 2nd
Stage 1: 4th
Stage 2: 18th
Finish: 1st
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 62/62
Laps Led: 29
Driver Point Standings (ahead of second): 1st (+82)
Notes:
- Austin Cindric scored a memorable win Saturday afternoon at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. The driver of the No. 22 PPG Ford won the 18th Annual Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard, his 13th career victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Cindric racked up his fifth win of the 2021 season and claimed his 14th top-five in 21 starts. He won for the first time in four starts at Indy (two on the oval, two on the road course) and is now tied with Marcos Ambrose and AJ Allmendinger for the most road course wins in the Xfinity Series (five). Cindric remains the leader in the series driver standings, stretching his lead to 82 points ahead of Allmendinger.
- Cindric qualified second on Saturday morning and maintained the position during the opening laps of the race before taking the lead from Justin Haley on lap 15. Two laps later the second caution was displayed and Cindric pitted for four tires, fuel, and tape. A handful of cars followed Cindric to pit road, and the different pit strategies among the field put Cindric 10th in line for the restart on lap 18. He sliced his way through traffic over the final two laps of Stage 1 to finish fourth when the segment concluded on lap 20.
- Crew chief Brian Wilson kept Cindric on the track during the stage caution and he restarted second when the race went green on lap 23. He promptly took the lead and led the next nine laps, stretching his advantage to 2.4 seconds before the fourth caution waved on lap 30. Cindric was shoved out of line on the restart, falling to fourth. Wilson called his driver to pit road from the third position on lap 37 for four fresh tires and fuel. Cindric was credited with an 18th-place finish when Stage 2 ended on lap 40.
- Once again Wilson made the call to stay out during the stage caution, lining up second when the race went green on lap 43. Cindric grabbed the lead on lap 45 and never looking back, holding firm to the top spot over the final 18 laps. He was never seriously challenged down the stretch and officially scored his first Indianapolis victory by two seconds over Allmendinger.
- Cindric will be back in action tomorrow at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course behind the wheel of the No. 33 MoneyLion Ford Mustang. He will be making his seventh start of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season in the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard. Live race coverage will begin at 1:00 p.m. ET on NBC and the NBC Sports App.
Quote: “First of all, I’ve got to thank Roger Penske for every opportunity I’ve had in my career, every opportunity he’s given you race fans to enjoy this beautiful weekend. I’m so proud of be part of this Penske family and thanks to PPG, Ford and everybody that has put so much into my career. Obviously, this racetrack is so much deeper than just that with my family history and what this place means to me. I can’t put into words what it means to win at Indianapolis. I’m proud to be here, proud to drive for Roger and proud to win at the Speedway.”
