Hollywood Casino 400: Kansas Speedway
Kansas City, Kan. – September 29, 2024
AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 MENARDS/MOEN FORD MUSTANG
START: 17TH STAGE ONE: 7TH STAGE TWO: 34TH FINISH: 34TH POINTS: 12TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric appeared poised for a solid performance at Kansas Speedway, but a string of misfortunes ultimately hampered the No. 2 Menards/Moen team’s effort in the first race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs’ Round of 12, resulting in a 34th-place finish. Cindric started the day from the 17th position and wasted no time climbing the leaderboard early on. Scored 11th at the second caution on Lap 15, Cindric headed to pit road for four fresh tires and fuel after informing the team that the car fired off on the tight side, but added that the track was starting to come to him. He restarted 15th, advancing up to the seventh spot by the time Stage 1 concluded, gaining valuable points. Happy with the car, the team ordered no adjustments and Cindric returned to pit road for fresh tires. Unfortunately, Cindric had to make a second stop for a loose wheel, wiping away his track position. The former NASCAR Xfinity Series champion was scored 29th in the running order as Stage 2 went green on Lap 87. Just over 10 laps later, a caution slowed the field again and Cindric returned for four fresh tires and fuel after advancing up to 25th. With great pace on the long run, the No. 2 team was confident in their ability to maneuver back through the field. The Team Penske Ford Mustang had recovered solidly, contending in the top 15 until it went spinning on the backstretch on Lap 157, making contact with the wall. The Menards/Moen machine was forced to pit multiple times to replace flat tires and damage repair. He restarted with four laps to go in Stage 2 and finished 34th. Over the final stint, Cindric battled a free-handling car, but maintained pace despite the damage. When the checkered flag flew, Cindric was scored in the 34th position. He now sits 12th in the playoff standings heading into Talladega Superspeedway, a track where the 26-year-old has consistently been a top contender.
CINDRIC’S THOUGHTS: “It was a really frustrating result. I thought the team did a really great job with adjustments overnight and we had a really fast car today and just took ourselves out of it on pit road. Obviously we had some contact on the back straightaway and I took us out of the race, really. That is unacceptable for the position we are in and especially with the speed we have had in the car. I am pretty bummed about all that. I think the next two weeks are weeks we can go have great races but we definitely won’t be able to get this one back. It makes our goals a little more clear going into Talladega and the Roval.”
RYAN BLANEY No. 12 WURTH FORD MUSTANG
START: 7TH STAGE ONE: 3RD STAGE TWO: 3RD FINISH: 4TH POINTS: 2ND
RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney rallied for a fourth-place finish despite a late-race setback in the opening race of the Round of 12 Sunday at Kansas Speedway. The top-five effort moves Blaney to second in the playoffs standings, 28 points above the cut line. After firing off from seventh to start the 400-mile event, Blaney put his long-run speed on display in the latter stages of the opening segment by working his way up to third in the running order with eight to go in the stage while getting within a second of the leader. Blaney ultimately came away with a third-place finish in Stage 1 before the 12-team ripped off a quick four tire stop under caution set up the Wurth Ford to take the restart from the inside of row two. After settling into sixth in the running order on the ensuing run, Blaney began to make his charge to the front with under 30 to go in the stage. Once he got around teammate Joey Logano for second, Blaney ran down the No. 20 and took the lead out of turn two on lap 142 but the caution flag flew shortly after, prompting the field to hit pit road one final time before the end of the stage. Despite a pair of cautions in the final 17 laps of the segment, Blaney was able to pick up another third-place finish in Stage 2. With varying pit strategies in play for the final run of the afternoon, Blaney was brought to pit road during the stage caution and lined up to restart 20th. On lap 192, Blaney reported a loose wheel and was forced to come down pit road under green, resulting in the Wurth Ford Mustang going a lap down in the process. As the green flag pit cycle began around 50 laps to, Blaney made his way back into the top-10 but would be 12-15 laps short on fuel if the race stayed green the rest of the way. The 12-team got the break they needed when the caution flag flew with 32 laps to go as Blaney hit pit road one final time for four tires and fuel. He lined up sixth to take the restart with 26 to go and worked his way back into the top-five before taking the checkered flag fourth to open the Round of 12.
BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “We definitely have some things we have to work on, for sure. Having a loose wheel and having to come in under green there. A couple of things we have to address. Overall, at the end of the day, I thought our car was really good. I kind of fenced it there after we came out of the pits after the loose wheel and I think I kind of hurt it a little bit. Our long-run car was great. I think we were better when the temperature was up a little bit and I could kind of run the bottom of [turns] three and four really well because guys were slipping. At the end I think it cooled off a little and that advantage kind of went away. All in all, it was a good day. We caught a break with the caution. I am proud of the fast cars and we just have to clean a couple of things up.”
JOEY LOGANO No. 22 SHELL-PENNZOIL FORD MUSTANG
START: 5TH STAGE ONE: 2ND STAGE TWO: 27TH FINISH: 14TH POINTS: 8TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Joey Logano came away with a 14th-place finish in the opening race of the Round of 12 Sunday at Kansas. With the result, Logano and the No. 22 team sit eighth in the playoffs standings, four points above the cut line. After starting fifth, Logano maintained top-five speed over the course of the first long, green flag run of the afternoon before the Shell-Pennzoil Mustang’s long run speed came to life in the closing laps of Stage 1. Logano closed in on the No. 24’s bumper with three to go in the stage, but ultimately settled for second in the opening segment. The 22 crew won the race off pit road during the stage caution, allowing Logano to control the restart from the inside of row one with teammate Ryan Blaney lined up behind him. He ultimately settled into second in the running order while battling some handling issues on the initial laps of the run. Three cautions in the final 20 laps of Stage 2 halted any sort of forward momentum as Logano was called to pit road following the yellow with nine laps left in the stage. However, Logano felt a loose wheel after making his way off pit road, forcing him to make an addition stop before the restart and taking the green from the tail end of the field, resulting in a 27th-place finish in Stage 2. Logano’s handling issues began to worsen during the final run of the day as the track conditions began to transition in the late afternoon, but he continued to maintain top-15 pace. The Shell-Pennzoil Ford made its way through two-and-three-wide battles during a pair of restarts with under 30 laps remaining before Logano ultimately took the checkered flag 14th.
LOGANO’S THOUGHTS: “I don’t know. We went from a winning car to being wrecking loose like someone hit a light switch. I don’t know why or what, but we had something that we could win with early and then we were out of control loose and trying not to wreck. It beats me. I don’t understand it. At least we scored good stage points in the first stage but we got nothing the second stage, unfortunately. We battled back from that loose wheel and got back to 14th. We just have to go to Talladega and be solid again. It isn’t going to be a comfortable next two weeks, that’s for sure.”
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Talladega Superspeedway for the second race of the Round of 12 on Sunday, October 6. Coverage of the Yellawood 500 begins at 2:00 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
