Ford Racing Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Kansas Playoff Media Availability
Wednesday, September 24, 2025
Austin Cindric, driver of the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse in the NASCAR Cup Series for Team Penske, goes into this weekend’s race at Kansas Speedway on the outside of the playoff cut line in the Round of 12. Cindric finds himself in 10th place, 19 points behind the final transfer spot with two races remaining. He took part in a NASCAR media availability this afternoon and talked about his situation.
AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse – HOW DO YOU EVALUATE LAST WEEKEND? “I definitely view it as a missed opportunity in a few ways. Obviously, having great runs from all of the cars that came out of that shop, I think, one, it starts in qualifying. I think a lot of that was on me, just not getting the lap. Honestly, just getting a little impatient exiting a lap that would have been pretty strong, but I thought we had some strengths in the race. We got some damage and probably more than I thought as far as from a performance standpoint, kind of reviewing things looking at the car. The snorkel was pinched off, so that’s power and the splitter was separated from the nose and that’s downforce, so it was a pretty challenging stage three to come back up through the field after doing some repairs for that. I definitely see it as a missed opportunity to start the round off well and that’s what we’re gonna need to do. Us and many others like us have very few points or very similar points, so I think there are about six or seven guys that I’m on the same playing field with and I look at it and think I could be further ahead than I am, but that’s how it went and that’s what we’ve got. We’ve got two races to keep going.”
YOU HAVE A NEW RIGHT SIDE TIRE THIS WEEKEND. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW IT WILL REACT? “You’re never fully gonna know, but I don’t expect much change. From Goodyear’s side, from what I understand, it’s more just from a durability standpoint with the construction of the tire, so I think pace and fall off and tirewear and the racetrack and all that, from everything that I understand and the information that I have, should all be fairly similar. Kansas is definitely one of those tracks that the teams push it right to the edge, so I don’t think that’s gonna be any different this weekend.”
YOU SAID YOU DON’T FEEL YOUR TEAM IS DESPERATE YET AS WE GO TO KANSAS. BEING 19 BELOW THE CUT LINE, WHAT DO YOU HAVE IN MIND AS FAR AS, ASIDE FROM WINNING, YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH AT KANSAS THAT WOULD KEEP YOU THINKING THAT WAY GOING INTO THE ROVAL? “I feel as though you think I’m incorrect. Should I be desperate? I think that anything we can do to get points. I mean, we’re obviously gonna have to go out and have two really good days and just as likely that the others do the same or get into trouble. Kansas and the Charlotte road course have been two very challenging racetracks as far as getting in wrecks or getting behind, so I think there’s a lot of opportunity for us and 19 is totally not out of the question, especially in two race events. I’m not getting ahead of my skis here at all, but I think from our standpoint you have to look at it realistically and think that we’re gonna have to go out and have two of our best weeks of the year to go make this happen on points, but I think those are two tracks that we’re capable of doing that. I’m excited for this weekend. It pumps me up. We’ve got nothing to lose and everything to go out and gain. I think that’s kind of where my head’s at.”
HOW HAVE THESE FOUR RACES GONE FOR YOU IN THE PLAYOFFS? “To that point, I don’t think any race has really gone the way we wanted it to so far, which put us in a very tight window for Bristol. I thought we had a lot of potential for a good finish at Bristol. A lot of potential for a good finish at Darlington. We definitely had speed at Gateway. I can sit here and list off all the reasons why and a lot of ways I feel like that’s how our season has gone this year. If I looked at my season from the perspective of a top 10 means I’m good or not, I’d go crazy because we’ve had a lot more than just that, but we have to go out and put it up there. We need to get results and results equal points, whether that’s in the stages or at the end of the races. My pit crew has probably been doing the best job they have all year and been super consistent and super reliable through the playoffs. I’d say that’s probably one of my overwhelming positives. Past that, we’ve done what we needed to, but we did in the last round is not going to be enough to get us through, and I also don’t feel like we’ve been able to achieve our maximum in those races, either. I think that’s really where my head’s at and where my focus is because I do feel like if we achieve the maximum of what we’re capable of as a group, or much closer to it, I feel like we’ll find ourselves in a very favorable position to continue fighting for a championship.”
THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF CHANGE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BUILDING. HOW IS YOUR DAD DOING? “I had a feeling this was an Indy Car question. Obviously, there are a lot of moving parts there and there’s definitely been some change throughout the team and throughout the shop, obviously, leadership this year within the organization, so, yeah, everything is kind of moving, but a lot of the same floor people that are out here doing their jobs are all the same, too. So, it’s definitely cool to see the new about Ron. I’ve known Ron pretty much my entire life, so he’s someone I think really highly of and looking forward to seeing what he can do in the next chapter, but, otherwise, my pops is doing well. Thanks for asking. Past that, I’m looking forward to Kansas.”
IS IT TWO SEPARATE SIDES OF THE BUILDING? DO YOU FEEL ON THE NASCAR SIDE EVERYTHING IS NORMAL AND EVERYTHING THAT’S HAPPENING OVER THERE IS TOTALLY SEPARATE? “There’s not necessarily a direct effect to us on the Cup side if that’s what you’re asking, but, otherwise, you’re never gonna have full immersion of the programs. There’s a lot more similarities between an IMSA program and an Indy Car program versus a NASCAR program, so you’re never going to entirely have people moving back and forth, but, otherwise, I think we all pay a lot of attention to those groups. We had a team lunch here a couple weeks ago that Roger came and talked to everybody and talked about the year. I feel like as much as we’ve got going on, it’s a pretty unified group and we’re all rooting on each other. We’ve been able to feel the momentum from the Indy Car guys at the end of the year. That was fun to see with Will and Josef get some wins there and obviously the IMSA championship is wrapping up and those guys have had a hell of a season, and I know they’ve got their eyes on us as well. I was actually working out with some of the Indy Car mechanics today, so it’s about as integrated as I think you could ever have with as much as we’ve got going on here.”
HOW WOULD YOU GRADE YOUR PERFORMANCE ON ROAD COURSES IN THE CUP SERIES AS A WHOLE AND HAS IT LIVED UP TO YOUR OWN EXPECTATIONS? “I’d say no, and I think that’s probably an obvious answer. Once again, I don’t feel like going on through the list of reasons why, but I would say this year has been exceptionally challenging. I think the biggest change I could put on that is we have a tire that we’ve gone to at the start of the year that we’ve integrated into all road courses and, at the end of the day, I’ve struggled to figure out what’s best for my car and what’s best for making lap time. I feel like the start of the year was pretty bad and trying to understand that. I’d say my last two events that we did at Sonoma and Watkins Glen were probably our two best, which 15th isn’t what we shoot for here. I definitely look forward to Charlotte and once again trying to adapt what we know from our last couple years to the Roval, where we had a great playoff race there last year – not good enough to win. We were in a must-win last year, but it’s gonna have to be a good event for us regardless, but it has been frustrating. It’s actually probably been one of the weakest areas for me this year, and who would have thought saying that a couple years ago. It ebbs and flows. It shows how competitive the series is and nothing is guaranteed. You’ve got to keep evolving.”
DO YOU LIKE HAVING A WILD CARD LIKE THE ROVAL IN A PLAYOFF RACE AND ALSO BEING A CUTOFF RACE? “I think you can take no race for granted as a status quo event. I mean, you look at our schedule. Even New Hampshire this past weekend or Kansas this weekend, I don’t think you can take any race for granted. Obviously, the on-track product and the challenges with what the driver has to do is going to be much different than how I drive the car at Kansas, but, otherwise, I see it as just as much of a wild card as going into this weekend. That’s how I view it. We have to be good at all types of tracks, so I see the Charlotte road course as no different, but it definitely provides some unique challenges and a lot of close quarters racing that can be hairy if you’re a playoff car, but I think the job and the risk and the opportunity to fail or succeed is just as high at Charlotte as it would be at any other race throughout the year as silly as that sounds, but it’s really become that competitive in this series.”
HOW IS THE INFORMATION SHARED BETWEEN TEAMS AT THIS TIME OF YEAR? “I think we’re all very conscious of each other’s scenarios. Obviously, Joey had a really good week, but he still needs points. Ryan won. I’ve got to have two really great weeks and obviously Josh is out of the playoffs. I think it makes it probably easier, and I’ve been in the position for sure before as far as how can I best help the people around me, but, as far as Ryan is concerned, he’s still got a championship that he’s racing for. Five bonus points, I don’t know if I have the math right, but that would put him as the points leader going into the Round of 8, trying to set up for another championship run, so I don’t think I can just take it for granted because he has a nice couple of weeks to figure it out for the Round of 8. I don’t think that’s fair, so I think we have to go out and do this the right way, but I think probably like no other team does, we have those conversations about what to do, what’s the right thing to do, how to take care of each other. Like I said, even Joey and I racing for the same real estate here, we still have to take care of each other, so I think that’s all very important. As I talk about this, I recognize the irony in all of it due to what happened in New Hampshire with the Gibbs cars, but I can’t control that. I’m not in any of those meetings, but it’s a hard thing to do, I can say that. Our team, and I think all of the drivers that are in the room for us are definitely on the same page and that makes racing situations a lot easier to at least understand what’s expected.”
DO YOU KIND OF FEEL LIKE YOU ARE UNDER THE RADAR? “I think my word going into the playoffs when we did media stuff is that I wanted to be invisible for the first two rounds. Being on fire in Bristol isn’t necessarily invisible, but past that, I think that’s all it’s going to take, but it’s way easier said than done. I don’t think having a weekend like last weekend is definitely gonna be enough by any means, but I think we’ve got to go on and be super solid, so, no, I don’t think 19 points is by any stretch of the imagination reason to be desperate.”
SO YOUR COMPANY HAS ADDRESSED THE SITUATION OF RACING TEAMMATES BEFORE IT HAPPENS? “We do the best we can. There’s always unique scenarios that come up, but it’s the best we can think and get together and collaborate as a group as far as what’s the right thing to do. In the right situation, what is expected and not just expected of the team, but more or less from the drivers. If all four of us can be on the same page, it makes it way easier. I expect Ryan to race me hard for position or for the win coming to this weekend because he’s got his season on the line, too. A win means that much more for him as it does for me, so I think that me sitting here knowing, ‘OK, Ryan is gonna race me hard’ is way different than ‘Ryan is probably gonna just give this one to me.’ No, but if I sat there and thought that, then I’m not gonna maybe drive as defensive. There are a lot of scenarios covered, and a lot of fairness, but at the same time we want a championship for Team Penske. That’s number one and this is about getting as many bullets in the gun as we can for Phoenix, so we’ll see what we can do.”
WHAT IS THE INTENSITY LIKE IN THE FIELD? AS YOU GO DEEPER IN THE PLAYOFFS HOW MUCH MORE OF A JERK DOES A DRIVER HAVE TO BE IN TERMS OF BEING AGGRESSIVE? “I think it’s a good question and I’m not gonna be able to give you a good answer because it’s situational. It’s driver to driver and I love the playoffs because you learn so much about your competitors in the playoffs, and that includes drivers who aren’t in the playoffs. I’ve been both before, so understanding with my perspective how I would react to a certain situation would be very different maybe from someone else, and I feel like there have been drivers in the field that have been very respectful, and other drivers in the field that look at it as an opportunity to go, ‘I’m gonna take advantage of this guy because he needs to walk on egg shells for the next three weeks.’ It’s a case-by-case thing and it’s very interesting from a birds eye view to see how it is, but I would say the races have been more aggressive for the last four weeks than any average point in the season, and that’s not from playoff drivers, so it’s kind of been an interesting point in time. We’ve had a lot of I wouldn’t say low percentage moves, but a lot of just, ‘I’ll put my car here and see how it works out.’ I’ve been seeing a lot more of that in the last couple weeks, which has been interesting.”
WHY DO YOU THINK THAT MIGHT BE THE CASE? “I guess if I was to speculate on why the aggression level or intensity level is higher regardless of your championship opportunities, it would be I want to win or get better results before the end of the year, and then obviously your playoff drivers need everything they can get. That would be my best generalization of why, but I feel like there have been other years where it’s different, so I definitely do feel as though it’s fairly situational.”
