Pennzoil 400 – Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas, Nev. – March 16, 2025
AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 DISCOUNT TIRE FORD MUSTANG
START: 3RD STAGE 1: 1ST STAGE 2: 21ST FINISH: 6TH POINTS: 21ST
RACE RUNDOWN: A strong day for Austin Cindric and the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang team proved dividends as he brought home a sixth-place finish in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Cindric would roll from the third starting spot and showed great early pace in his No. 2 Ford Mustang. He would ride in second place behind teammate Joey Logano prior to the first round of green flag pit stops. A caution during the cycle would allow the Discount Tire crew to pit under the yellow flag and remain on the lead lap. Cindric would cycle to the front on the restart and be the leader by lap 41. With clean air, Cindric would hold off Alex Bowman to win Stage 1, his first stage triumph of 2025. Cindric would restart second to begin Stage 2. The balance of his Discount Tire Ford Mustang shifted to the tight side. He would fall back to eighth prior to the next round of pit stops. Unfortunately, Cindric would pit twice for a potential loose wheel. Buried in dirty air, Cindric would finish Stage 2 in the 21st position. He would slowly make progress back to the front, but timely strategy calls by crew chief Brian Wilson would allow Cindric to regain the lost track position. Cindric would focus forward and ultimately bring home a sixth-place finish at race end. The result marked his second top 10 finish of the year. He has also led at least one lap in four of the five races thus far in 2025.
CINDRIC’S THOUGHTS: “Definitely a solid day for our Discount Tire Ford Mustang. Think we showed great pace and fought back through some adversity. Great call by Brian (Wilson) to gain back that track position. We can certainly build off today.”
RYAN BLANEY No. 12 MENARDS/PENNZOIL FORD MUSTANG
START: 36TH STAGE 1: 33RD STAGE 2: 6TH FINISH: 35TH POINTS: 7TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney rallied from two laps down in the opening stage to make his way into the top five by Stage 2, but ultimately was collected in a multi-car incident on lap 195 to bring an end to the weekend in Las Vegas for the No. 12 Menards/Pennzoil Ford Mustang. Due to damage sustained during practice Saturday, Blaney took the green flag from the tail end of the field and gained 10 positions in the opening 10 laps. A caution during the first green flag pit cycle of the afternoon trapped Blaney two laps down, resulting in a 33rd-place finish in Stage 1. An early caution during the first run of Stage 2 awarded Blaney the free pass to rejoin the lead lap, as he went on to gain 27 spots en route to a sixth-place finish in Stage 2. After the field lined up to restart with 73 laps to go, Blaney found himself in the middle of a four-wide battle off turn two and was turned into the outside wall on the backstretch. Blaney was able to drive the Menards/Pennzoil Ford Mustang to the garage for the No. 12 team to make repairs, but ultimately retired from the race.
BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “We were four-wide there. I’ll have to go back and see if I pinched those guys in the fence on the top. You try to take the best you can out of this weekend even though it ended poorly. We finally got our way into the top five and the car was really good, but we end up wrecked. It’s one of those weekends where it seems like nothing can really go right, but we’ll stick with it.”
JOEY LOGANO No. 22 PENNZOIL ULTRA PLATINUM FORD MUSTANG
START: 2ND STAGE 1: 7TH STAGE 2: 17TH FINISH: 15TH POINTS: 8TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Joey Logano was in contention late in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas, but the final pit cycle of the afternoon proved to be costly, culminating in a 15th-place finish. Logano started from the front row for the second consecutive week and led the first of his 40 total laps on the afternoon before scoring a seventh-place finish in Stage 1. Following a four tire stop and a round of adjustments during the stage caution, Logano continued to fight the handling in traffic during the second segment as he faded outside of the top 10. A caution on lap 147 set up split strategies with a handful of teams taking two tires prior to the restart, miring Logano in traffic as he logged a 17th-place finish in Stage 2. The No. 22 team was one of a few to play the long game on fuel strategy to make it to the end, as Logano took over the lead with just over 30 laps remaining. However, a caution with 25 laps to go saw the Pennzoil Ultra Platinum Ford Mustang relinquish the lead on pit road as Logano went on to cross the line 15th following the final restart with 19 laps to go.
LOGANO’S THOUGHTS: “Tough way to end the weekend for us. The last run was shaping up to look a lot like how last fall’s strategy played out for us, but I just made a mistake on pit road that I wish I could have back. Proud of the effort but should’ve had more to show for it.”
The NASCAR Cup Series returns to the East Coast to race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, March 23. Live coverage begins at 3:00 p.m. ET on FS1 with in-car camera angles available all race long through MAX Driver Cam.
