Coke Zero Sugar 400: Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, Fla. – August 24, 2024
AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 MENARDS/TARKETT FORD MUSTANG
START: 8TH STAGE ONE: 4TH STAGE TWO: 16TH FINISH: 18TH POINTS: 19TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric finished 18th in Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 after a late-race incident put a damper on his stout performance throughout the night. Cindric started eighth after advancing to the final round of qualifying Friday evening and was a mainstay in the top 10 over the course of the opening Stage. Cindric led the charge of the third lane that formed early on before eventually taking the lead on Lap 26. As the momentum of the draft fluctuated, the 2022 DAYTONA 500 winner finished Stage 1 fourth. Cindric restarted third in line behind teammate Joey Logano as a contingent of Fords flexed out front. Under caution on Lap 60, Cindric pitted for fuel only and restarted sixth, until getting bounced from the second position with 17 laps to go in the Stage. After dropping back to 19th, Cindric gained a few positions to finish Stage 2 16th. Following a quick pit stop, the Team Penske driver restarted sixth for the final Stage. Cindric continued to impress at the front of the field, in contention for the win as the laps winded down until getting collected in a late-race incident that relegated him to an 18th-place finish.
CINDRIC’S THOUGHTS: “Obviously, we had a really fast Ford Mustang Dark Horse. The Menards/Tarkett Ford was good enough to win tonight. We were in position there to win and I just got turned and that’s how it goes sometimes here. I’m really happy for Harrison and everybody at the Wood Brothers. They’ve been waiting a long time for win No. 100. I love those guys. I love Harrison. He’s a great dude and deserves this spot in the limelight. It’s awesome.”
RYAN BLANEY No. 12 ADVANCE AUTO PARTS FORD MUSTANG
START: 14TH STAGE ONE: 5TH STAGE TWO: 2ND FINISH: 29TH POINTS: 4TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney came away with a pair of top-five stage finishes Saturday night at Daytona but a multi-car incident in turns one and two with nine laps to go resulted in a 29th-place finish for the No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang. After starting 14th, Blaney found success running the inside lane during the opening stage to work his way to the front of the field despite battling a tight-handling condition. Blaney and teammate Joey Logano worked together in the draft to pull their line to the front of the field in the closing laps of the segment as Blaney secured a fifth-place finish in Stage 1. The first caution flag of the night flew on lap 60 as the field came apart on the backstretch right in front of Blaney, but he was able to evade the carnage before coming to pit road for fuel prior to the restart with 29 laps remaining in Stage 2. All three Team Penske Fords were able to get lined up on the ensuing restart and carried their momentum to the front as Blaney pushed Logano to the lead coming to the final lap of the stage. Blaney made the move to the inside of the No. 22 as the leaders made their way through the tri-oval, setting up a three-wide finish to the green-and-white checkered flag with the Advance Auto Parts Ford scored second at the line in Stage 2. Following a round of pit stops during the stage break, teams began to vary their fuel strategies with one more stop needed to make it to the end of the 400-mile event but a caution with 21 to go eliminated a potential green flag pit cycle. The No. 12 crew gained five spots on pit road during the fuel-only stop as the field lined up to take the green flag with 16 laps to go. As the intensity began to pick up at the front of the field, Logano and Blaney were leading the inside lane yet again when the No. 34 spun down the banking in turn one in front of Logano, collecting Blaney and several others in the process. Blaney sustained significant front-end damage that knocked out the radiator, bringing the 12-team’s night to an end.
BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “I saw the logo on [Joey Logano’s] rear bumper get really big really fast and it knocked the radiator out of it. I don’t know what happened in front of [Logano] and who got turned or what and what made us check up. I was really hoping to make it to the end of this. I haven’t finished a Daytona race in like two years, so I was looking forward to it. I thought Joey and I were in a decent spot to go forward, but it’s just chaotic like normal.”
JOEY LOGANO No. 22 SHELL-PENNZOIL FORD MUSTANG
START: 3RD STAGE ONE: 2ND STAGE TWO: 1ST FINISH: 31ST POINTS: 15TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Joey Logano led a race-high 34 laps and picked up his second stage win of the season Saturday night at Daytona, but a late-race incident at the front of the field brought the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford’s run to an abrupt end in a 31st-place finish. Logano started the 400-mile event from the inside of row two and battled for the lead throughout the opening run of the night. The Shell-Pennzoil Mustang led the field into turn one on the final lap Stage 1, but ultimately settled for a second-place finish in the 35-lap segment after the outside lane prevailed. The first caution flag of the night flew on lap 60 for a 14-car incident on the backstretch as crew chief Paul Wolfe made the call for fuel only under yellow in order to make it to the end of Stage 2. All three Team Penske Fords were able to get lined up and work their way to the front shortly after the restart before teammate Ryan Blaney pushed Logano to the lead on the final lap. Logano fended off a three-wide battle to the line as the green-and-white checkered flag waved to pick up his second stage win of the season. With teams varying their strategies on pit road during the stage caution, Wolfe made the call for four tires and fuel as one more stop was needed to make it to the end on fuel. With under 30 laps remaining and window open for green flag pit stops, the caution came out with 21 to go while Logano was scored eighth in the running order as the leaders hit pit road to top off on fuel one final time under yellow. With Blaney lined up behind him in the inside lane, Logano took the green flag with 16 to go as the two teammates again worked their way to the front as the laps ticked off. After the field crossed the line with nine laps remaining, contact between the No. 34 and No. 2 in the outside lane shot the No. 34 down the banking and head-on into Logano, setting off a multi-car wreck in turn one that ultimately marked the end of the night for the 22-team.
LOGANO’S THOUGHTS: “It’s speedway racing. It’s a lot of fun until it’s not. We did a good job keeping our car in position all night, up in the top-five the whole race. We got a stage win, which is great. [Michael] McDowell just got turned and came down in front me with nowhere to go. I think he’s OK as well. Some pretty big hits there, and then horrible to see Josh Berry there a second ago upside-down into the wall. We’ve got to figure out how to keep the cars on the ground. We’re not doing enough to fix that.”
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Darlington Raceway for the regular season finale on Sunday, September 1. Coverage of the Cook Out Southern 500 begins at 6 p.m. ET on USA, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
