South Point 400: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas, Nev. – October 20, 2024
AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 AUTOTRADER FORD MUSTANG
START: 11TH STAGE ONE: 9TH STAGE TWO: 33RD FINISH: 34TH POINTS: 11TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric’s strong start to Sunday’s South Point 400 came to an abrupt end early in Stage 2 after the No. 2 Autotrader Ford Mustang sustained serious damage, hindering its ability to continue in the event. Cindric started 11th after narrowly missing out on advancing to the final round of qualifying in Saturday’s time trials. He reported early on that the car was a touch on the snug side and had slight left-front chatter, but it eventually dissipated. The Autotrader Ford Mustang made its first trip to pit road under green on Lap 33, receiving four tires and fuel. Cindric cycled back to ninth and climbed to seventh by Lap 52. The No. 3 car brought out the caution on Lap 64 and Cindric returned to pit road for service, lining up 15th for the dash to the end of Stage 1. When the flags flew to close out the opening segment, Cindric was scored ninth. Following the restart to fire off Stage 2, a chaotic, multi-car incident ensued that ultimately left the No. 2 Ford Mustang with significant damage, forcing it to retire from the race under NASCAR’s Damaged Vehicle Policy.
CINDRIC’S THOUGHTS: “It’s an unfortunate ending to the day for the No. 2 Autotrader Ford Mustang. It’s frustrating because we’ve had really fast cars, especially today. I felt like we had one of the best cars on the long run and the way those cautions and the strategy and all that, it’s a shame. The last three weeks we’ve had cars that easily could have finished in the top five and some of those we got wrecked. It’s racing. It’s tough, but I definitely want to finish strong.”
RYAN BLANEY No. 12 MENARDS/GREAT STUFF FORD MUSTANG
START: 37TH STAGE ONE: 17TH STAGE TWO: 32ND FINISH: 32ND POINTS: 7TH
RACE RUNDOWN: It was one of those weekends to put in the rearview mirror for Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Menards/Great Stuff Ford Mustang team at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. After beginning his practice session on Saturday afternoon, the defending Cup Series champion would cut a tire sending him into the outside turn 1 wall. The Menards crew worked well into the night and early morning to prepare a backup car for Sunday’s South Point 400. Rolling off 37th on the grid, Blaney would quickly show the strong preparation of the No. 12 team by driving his way into the top 20 when the first round of green flag pit stops began around lap 30. Crew chief Jonathan Hassler opted to keep Blaney out until lap 40 when he made his first pit stop of the day. He would use slightly fresher Goodyear tires to bring home a 17th place finish in Stage 1, a net gain of 20 positions from the event’s start. Blaney would restart 19th when Stage 2 began. Unfortunately, he would suffer damage in a multi-car crash on the frontstretch on lap 90. The Menards crew would make extensive repairs and Blaney would soldier home for a 32nd place finish.
BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “We’re still alive. It’s definitely not the best of days. It was just a rough weekend overall. I don’t know what to do about it, to be honest with you, running over something and having a hole in (the tire) in practice. And then just getting clipped out there. I thought I could get around him and didn’t know if he’d come up the racetrack and then by the time he was kind of on the track it was too late. I got clipped and bent everything, so it was just a rough weekend. We still have two more weeks, so we’re definitely not out of it.”
JOEY LOGANO No. 22 PENNZOIL FORD MUSTANG
START: 10TH STAGE ONE: 8TH STAGE TWO: 5TH FINISH: 1ST POINTS: 1ST (ADV)
RACE RUNDOWN: In what was a full week of emotions for the No. 22 team and driver Joey Logano, the two-time Cup Series champion punched his ticket to the Championship 4 by winning Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This was Logano’s fourth Cup Series victory in Las Vegas and 35th overall. The triumph solidified the Middletown, Conn. native’s streak of qualifying for the Championship 4 in even number years dating back to the format’s inception in 2014.
Logano rolled the Pennzoil Ford Mustang from the 10th starting position. He would quickly begin moving his way forward early by driving to sixth position prior to his first pit stop on lap 34. A caution on lap 64 would see mixed strategies for the short sprint to the Stage 1 conclusion on lap 80. Crew chief Paul Wolfe would opt for four Goodyear tires and an air pressure adjustment and Logano would restart 12th with nine laps remaining. He would pick off a handful of spots to finish eighth in Stage 1. The No. 22 team would flip the script during the stage break and take right side tires to restart fourth. Logano would make strong moves on the green flag restart to move up to second place. He would remain around the top five to finish fifth when Stage 2 was completed on lap 165. The final stage began, and the balance of the Pennzoil Ford Mustang was on the tight side in traffic. The final round of pit stops began with about 40 laps to go and the Pennzoil crew opted to stretch the fuel mileage and calculate as they go. With instruction from Wolfe and spotter Coleman Pressley, Logano would pass Daniel Suarez for the lead on lap 262 and hold off a hard charging Christopher Bell to score the victory.
LOGANO’S THOUGHTS: “So proud of our race team all the way through. This group of guys, they’re truly incredible. They’re good people, which is one of the things I’m most proud of, but they’re really smart. In the playoffs, they’re able to really be able to keep a level head and maximize the races no matter what’s dealt with them. Today we had a solid car. We were not as good as the No. 20 team, but we were a top five car. In the long run we were probably the best car. When there’s an opportunity like that at the end of the race, where there’s a long run, you’re able to make good mileage, that’s one of our strengths that we have with the Ford, so there’s an opportunity there to run it long. When you put that together with Paul Wolfe, an incredible crew chief, he really makes that happen there. Engineers calculating everything. Then communication, right? To Coleman (Pressley), my spotter, back down to me as a driver, how much can I save, what’s going on around me. Obviously, we don’t want to win by too much, make sure you save enough gas to get to the end. Yeah, able to make it happen.”
The NASCAR Cup Series continues the Round of 8 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, October 27. Coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
