Team Penske NASCAR XFINITY Series Race Report
Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Race: DC Solar 300
Date: September 15, 2018
No. 22 MoneyLion Ford Mustang – Austin Cindric
Start: 2nd
Stage 1: 6th
Stage 2: 8th
Finish: 9th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 200/200
Laps Led: 0
Driver Point Standings (behind first): 11th (-38)
Owner Point Standings (behind first): 1st (-6)
Notes:
• Austin Cindric and the No. 22 MoneyLion Ford Mustang team qualified second in the DC Solar 300 Saturday afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
• During the first 45-lap stage, Cindric’s Ford lacked grip, causing the rookie driver to fall to eighth position but he rebounded to finish sixth by the end of Stage 1.
• Cindric pitted during the stage caution and crew chief Brian Wilson called for four tires, fuel and a minor adjustment to help the balance on the No. 22 Ford Mustang.
• Stage 2 went green on lap 51 and shortly after the race went green Cindric reported that his balance and short run speed had improved from earlier in the race. The young driver did a solid job during the second segment, scoring an eighth-place finish when the stage ended on lap 92.
• Cindric made a scheduled four-tire pit stop during the following stage caution. Speedy work on pit lane by the No. 22 MoneyLion crew moved Cindric up to sixth position when the race went green on lap 96.
• The final stage of the race was a challenge for Cindric. He slid back to 12th-place over a long run. Three cautions over the final 23 laps worked in Cindric’s favor, giving him the chance to battle his way up to ninth-place when the checkered flag waved on lap 200.
• Cindric clinched a spot in the NASCAR XFINITY Series Playoffs. He scored his eighth top-10 of the season and enters the Playoffs 11th in the standings, 38 points behind the leader.
• The No. 22 Ford Mustang team enters the Playoffs as the leader in the owner points, six ahead of the No. 42 of Chip Ganassi Racing.
Quote: ““It was a challenge but it is a welcome challenge. The experience I have been able to get working with three different crew chiefs and teams and building so many relationships over the course of the regular season has been really cool for me. I feel like I have three families in the garage area and I feel like that is something a lot of guys don’t have. I feel like that is pretty special. Obviously we got two boxes checked today, the bonus points for the owners championship side as well as getting the box checked to make the playoffs. The last three weeks have been appalling on so many levels of not being able to finish and things out of our control but all that is behind us and it is a good time to build momentum and I am excited being with these MoneyLion guys and I am excited to see what is next”
