Ford Racing Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Phoenix Media Availability
Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Austin Cindric, driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse, is in eighth place in the NASCAR Cup Series Chase standings, an improvement of seven spots from where he started the 10-race postseason. He participated in a NASCAR media call earlier this morning to talk about the keys to his team’s success and what his expectations are this weekend in Phoenix.
AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT IS A LONG TIME AND A SHORT TIME TO YOU AS YOU LOOK AT THE MATH OF WHERE YOU ARE IN THE STANDINGS AND HOW IT STACKS UP? “I think in the scheme of the Chase, four races is still a lot, but in the scheme of we’ve been racing since February, it’s crazy there there are only four races left. I think there’s two parts. There’s the human part that definitely thinks it’s kind of wild that I only get to drive four more races this year, and then there’s the competitor in me that thinks four races is a lot to make up some ground.”
HOW DO YOU LOOK AT PHOENIX AND WILL IT COME DOWN TO THE WIRE AT THE LAST RACE IN HOMESTEAD? “It certainly can and it has the possibility to do that. I think, for us and our Discount Tire Ford, we definitely want to maximize the weekend at Phoenix. I thought we had a really good run going in the spring and were not able to finish that, so I think as a team we definitely have some good notes. As far as the championship goes, I think as you get closer to the end, the picture gets clearer – no different than Charlotte played a big role, Phoenix will play a big role in that. I think Talladega will probably be the last big roll. When you kind of only have two races to go, you can really start to actually trust some math and the way things are gonna shake out and what it’s gonna look like. I think that it’s an important week, no different than any other.”
AFTER GATEWAY THERE WAS SOME CHATTER THAT MAYBE DRIVERS WON’T USE THE FULL PRACTICE AT PHOENIX OVER BRAKE PAD CONCERNS. HAVE YOU HAD ANY DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT? “It’s definitely an interesting take. My first question to you is gonna be, why? So, if that answers your question right away as far as us wanting limited practice or not. Obviously, we have the race from the spring and we didn’t have any issues, so I guess it’s not necessarily a concern for us, but it would make complete sense. At the end of the day, the way that the practice is laid out, there is a little bit of time to have some down time, too, but I expect us to maximize the sets of tires that we have.”
WHAT HAVE YOU LACKED IN YEARS PAST AT PHOENIX AND ARE YOU MORE CONFIDENT NOW WITH THIS RECENT RUN OF SUCCESS IN THE CHASE? “I’ve lacked the ability to finish the race the last two times there, and I expect us to be able to do that this time. It would be a shame if we DNF three races in a row in Phoenix.”
WE SEE TEAMS CLEAN AND SCRUB PIT STALLS AT PHOENIX. CAN YOU GIVE A SENSE OF THE CHALLENGE THOSE STALLS PRESENT? “I think from my personal observation, a lot of different race teams have a lot of different theories on what creates grip in the pit stall or what eliminates grip in the pit stall, but I think what it all comes down to, and I think it has a lot to do with being in the desert. I remember when they reconfigured pit road several years back with the new concrete and all that, it was pretty slippery. I’d say it’s gotten better in recent years, but Vegas and Phoenix are both pretty slippery, so between that and just having dust and marbles and all the things that kind of fall out of the car as you stop in the box, it definitely creates a slipperier stall in that environment. It’s kind of whatever the teams decide to do that’s gonna make the most sense, but it does play an impact on how you enter the box and how you leave the stall. Honestly, how the pit crew guys – the grip that they can have when they jump off the wall and land to when they’re cutting around the car to go to the left side. There are a ton of factors where stall grip is important and Phoenix there are plenty of times where it’s pretty slippery.”
WHAT IS THE DETRIMENT TO GOING ON THE APRON THROUGH THE APRON IN TURNS ONE AND TWO? “It’s obviously a shorter distance, so there’s that. That’s why it comes into play on restarts. With that you’re asking your car to cut a tighter radius around the corner, but at the same time there’s less banking as well. I think Phoenix has been pretty racy the last times we’ve been there and I think with this tire as well to where we’re kind of using a lot of the racetrack. If you’re able to go where someone isn’t and be able to maximize lap time and get your car to work well where other cars aren’t, typically that is a place that is somewhat difficult to run your car, like I said, on a tighter corner radius without the banking, so I think being able to have versatility on all the tracks that we go to is very important and that’s another paved part of the racetrack you can use.”
HOW DIFFERENT IS IT RACING AT THE FRONT THAN MIDPACK? “It’s a lot different. I’d say this time of year maybe it’s not as different, but just given the guys that are up front are the guys that are racing for a championship and I feel like with this format the guys that have been racing for the championship are the guys pushing the hardest and honestly make just as many mistakes. So, I think that’s been interesting, but in the back and the midfield, yeah, it’s super volatile, not necessarily from drivers and how you race, but the opportunity to gain and lose spots is massive and the things that are in your control sometimes is a lot less, whereas the front of the pack is a bit more predictable in terms of restarts and calling race strategy. It is a massive challenge to be able to get yourself out of that range because they are very competitive cars and the driver talent is still exceptionally high, so it’s hard to differentiate yourself when there are so many factors that you have to be able to fight with having an equal amount of cars in front and behind. There’s a lot of opportunity to gain and lose.”
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED RACING AT THE FRONT THESE LAST FEW WEEKS? “For us, it’s validation of the processes that we do every week on the 2 team and the preparation. I think that’s what we all do throughout the week to get ready for these races and being able to show up and have competitive car speed and be able to leverage the things you need to prepare, I think the more that we as a group are able to stick to our keys and be able to do that, the job doesn’t change, obviously just the reward is higher. It’s been certainly satisfying, but, at the same time, it’s about having that consistent performance is where you want to be every week.”
