Team Penske NASCAR XFINITY Series Race Report
Track: Bristol Motor Speedway
Race: Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300
Date: April 14, 2018
No. 22 Fitzgerald Ford Mustang – Austin Cindric
Start: 10th
Stage 1: 5th
Stage 2: 5th
Finish: 12th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 300/300
Laps Led: 1
Owner Points Position (ahead of first): 1st (+24)
Driver Point Standings (behind first): 13th (-125)
Notes:
· Austin Cindric started 10th in Saturday’s Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway in the No. 22 Fitzgerald Glider Kits Ford Mustang.
· During the first 85-lap caution filled stage, Cindric raced his way into the top-five, and finished in the fifth position at the conclusion of Stage 1.
· The 19-year-old rookie reported to crew chief Brian Wilson that his Fitzgerald Glider Kits Ford fired off tight but on the long-run became too loose to keep pace with the race leaders. The No. 22 team made a wedge adjustment on the stage ending pit stop to provide Cindric the security he lacked in the opening laps.
· The second stint of the 300-lap race had the No. 22 Ford firing off better. Cindric said his Mustang was the strongest it had been all day. Cindric would remain in the top-10 for the entire 80-lap stage, racing his way to the fifth position by the end of Stage 2, collecting valuable stage points.
· During the longest green flag run of the race, Cindric reported he had no rear grip, but still managed to run the fastest laps on track in the 11th position.
· By lap 281, the No. 22 Ford had lost one lap to the leader but only laps later was the beneficiary of the free pass to rejoin the lead lap cars with 15 laps remaining in the race.
· Cindric would restart the final sprint to the finish in eighth. While racing for position on the final lap, Cindric’s Ford was hooked in the rear by the No. 9, relegating the Fitzgerald Glider Kits Ford to a 12th position.
· Cindric’s 12th place would move him up to the 13th position in Drivers Points. The No. 22 Ford team remains first in the NASCAR XFINITY Owner Points standings.
Quote: “I saw a good day almost come to completion. It wasn’t a perfect day. We got top-5 stage points in both stages and I was real happy about that. We were way too loose on that long run and lost a lot early. We kind of gained it back and then got the lucky dog there and got a decent restart. I got up to seventh and it just looked like the 9 got loose up top and hooked us into the fence and destroyed a good race car.”
