Straight Talk Wireless 400: Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead, Fla. – October 27, 2024
AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 FREIGHTLINER FORD MUSTANG
START: 36TH STAGE ONE: 29TH STAGE TWO: 26TH FINISH: 27TH POINTS: 11TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric finished 27th after enduring a challenging day in the No. 2 Freightliner Ford Mustang at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Cindric started the day from the 36th position after the car got loose during Saturday’s qualifying session but gained a few spots early on as a caution slowed the field on the opening lap. The Team Penske driver made his first trip to pit road on Lap 42 receiving four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. Following a caution a few laps later for the No. 5, Cindric stayed out and restarted third, but lost position quickly as those with fresher tires accelerated by. When the flags flew to conclude Stage 1, the 26-year-old racer was scored 29th. Over the radio, Cindric informed the Freightliner crew that the car had tightened up that run and he needed better drive off the corner. Crew chief Brian Wilson called the driver to pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment under the caution. When the field went green again on Lap 88, Cindric was in the 22nd position. Over the span of the segment, the No. 2 struggled with grip and turn on exit and finished Stage 2 in the 26th position. Under the break, Wilson called the driver back to pit road for air pressure and wedge adjustments in hopes of aiding the situation. Cindric was forced to back up to depart his pit stall and lined up 28th for the restart. In the final segment, the team made slight gains with the handling of the car and the pit crew performed their final stop of the day with less than 40 laps to go. When the checkered flag flew, Cindric and the No. 2 Freightliner team crossed the line in the 27th position.
CINDRIC’S THOUGHTS: “We didn’t quite have our Freightliner Ford Mustang where we needed it to be for most phases of the weekend. I felt like we were able to improve the car throughout the race, but on top of that, it was one of those that if something would go wrong on a restart or guys would get stuck on pit road, I felt like I got promoted to the back pretty much anytime there was a caution or break. It’s definitely a hard thing to do at this track, but we have some good notes for next year.”
RYAN BLANEY No. 12 MENARDS/RICHMOND FORD MUSTANG
START: 20TH STAGE ONE: 4TH STAGE TWO: 5TH FINISH: 2ND POINTS: 7TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney came up one spot short of clinching a spot in the Championship 4 to defend his 2023 Cup Series title Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. With the runner-up effort, Blaney enters the final race of the Round of 8 seventh in the playoffs standings, 38 points below the cut line. After starting 20th, the Menards/Richmond Ford made its way inside the top-10 by lap 25 before Blaney worked his way up to fifth in the running order following the first green flag pit cycle of the afternoon. Blaney ultimately came away with a fourth-place finish in the opening stage before the 12 team ripped off one of its fastest stops of the day to win the race off pit road heading into Stage 2. Blaney continued to battle for the lead during the opening run of the stage despite a tight handling condition off the exit of the corners before another quick four tire stop under green on lap 113 allowed the Menards/Richmond Mustang to cycle to the lead just 13 laps later. The tight condition persisted when Blaney was running up against the wall, resulting in a fifth-place finish in Stage 2. Blaney continued to fight for the top spot during the opening run of the final stage and eventually took the lead back with 76 laps to go with teams needing one more stop to make it to the end. The green flag pit cycle began with 50 to go before crew chief Jonathan Hassler called Blaney to pit road from the lead with 46 laps remaining and cycled to second in the running order, one spot behind the No. 45 who had yet to pit. While battling for the lead with 13 laps to go, the No. 5 forced Blaney and a lapped car three-wide in turn three, causing the No. 5 to spin above Blaney and bring out the caution. The field hit pit road one final time as the 12 team won the race off pit road yet again, setting up a restart with seven to go with Blaney lining up alongside the No. 45 that stayed out under caution with two-lap older tires. After restarting from the inside of row one, Blaney was split three wide heading into turn one but regained his momentum to get around the No. 11 and take the white flag from the lead. Blaney continued to hold the top spot down the backstretch as the No. 45 got to his bumper before making the race-winning pass from the top lane. Blaney led 47 laps in the second-place result, marking his fifth top-10 in this season’s eight playoff races.
BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “Yeah, disappointing. I had a good shot to win it and I didn’t have a very good last lap. I thought I got into three hard and [Tyler Reddick] just went in there and it stuck for him, which is really impressive. I hate to give one away there like that. I don’t know if we gave it away. We got the lead back after losing it on the restart and just that last lap didn’t play out for us. I appreciate everybody on the 12 team for bringing a really fast race car. I had a really great shot to go to Phoenix and I still have one more chance, so we still have to look forward to that. I appreciate Menards and Ford and Ford Performance, Richmond, Advance Auto Parts, BODYARMOR, DEX Imaging and everybody. It is a shame. I will be thinking through it all night of what I should have done different, probably. That is just the way it goes but I am really proud of the effort and hopefully we can bring it to them next week.”
JOEY LOGANO No. 22 HUNT BROTHERS PIZZA FORD MUSTANG
START: 26TH STAGE ONE: 22ND STAGE TWO: 20TH FINISH: 28TH POINTS: 1ST (ADV)
RACE RUNDOWN: Joey Logano came away with a 28th-place finish Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, a week after the 22 team clinched its spot in the Championship 4 with a dramatic win at Las Vegas. Logano was forced to start at the rear of the field after replacing the steering system following qualifying Saturday as crew chief Paul Wolfe altered his strategy accordingly, opting to run long during the first green flag pit cycle in order to gain track position. Logano cycled to fourth in the running order before Wolfe called him to pit road on lap 41. The caution flew just seven laps later, prompting Wolfe to keep Logano on track with three other cars that also pitted late in the cycle. Logano took the restart from the inside of row one, but fresher tires prevailed over the final 27 laps of the stage in a 22nd-place result. Logano worked his way back towards the top-10 during the opening run of Stage 2 as the 22 team continued to work on the balance of the Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford. Logano went on to take the green-and-white checkered flag 20th in the second segment. The No. 22 continued to battle through traffic over the course of the final run of the afternoon, but the green flag pit cycle trapped Logano a lap down before the caution flag flew with 13 to go, allowing him to take the wave around under yellow to get back on the lead lap for the final restart of the day. Logano went on to take the checkered flag 28th in the final intermediate track event of the 2024 season.
LOGANO’S THOUGHTS: “Hard-fought day for our Hunt Brothers Pizza team. Starting at the back forced us to rely heavily on strategy from the start in order to make back some track position but it didn’t quite fall our way. Hopefully we can build some momentum in Martinsville before heading to Phoenix to race for a championship.”
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Martinsville Speedway for the Round of 8 finale on Sunday, November 3. Coverage of the XFINITY 500 begins at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
