Cindric Takes the Win

Enjoy Illinois 300:

Austin Cindric took the checkered flag on Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway securing his first win of the season and snapping an 85-race winless streak. Cindric took the win away from teammate Ryan Blaney coming to the white flag after Blaney had run out of gas. Cindric's win should lock him into the playoffs and has to be a confidence booster for the third year driver as he hadn't performed up to Penske standards (and his own standards) since his Daytona 500 victory in 2022.

Cindric had an impressive run all day, routinely running in the top-5 and was able to maneuver through traffic on various strategies all day. Yet, it looked like he would have to settle for a third place finish after the final round of pit stops had cycled through and that left Ryan Blaney and Christopher Bell (arguably the two best cars) up front as the checkered flag approached. A top three would have been a huge day for Cindric, and while bummed about missing a win, no doubt the 2 crew would have gladly taken a top three. Then, Christopher Bell had an engine issue. Now, Cindric settles into second place - even better! And looks for sure to be a top two Penske day. Not bad. But, for some unknown and unexpected reason, Blaney's full tank went dry. A sure fire Blaney win was stripped and Cindric took the white flag and cruised onto victory lane. It was best said after the race was over when Cindric keyed the radio and said: "I don't even know what to say." I didn't either! But, nonetheless, the 2 crew put on a great weekend from practice, to qualifying, to raceday. Perfect execution, fast car, clean pit stops, and smooth driving put them in a place where they could win. They had a little luck, no doubt, but Cindric and his bunch earned it and deserved the win.

Overall, I liked the race. I ranked it a 7.5/10; still think it is a bit too hard to pass (or even get close enough to do something to another car) but I guess I will have to get over that since there seems to be no good fix on the horizon. The race did have it all though. Strategy, guys that could drive to the front, guys that would fall off. Dominant cars, contending cars, and a little spice and excitement at the end with a shocking end to the race and a bit of a surprise winner. Sure, it wasn't a barn burner, and sure, I'd like to see the cars get closer, be able to use the bumper, and not fight dirty air on a track that is short track-esque. But with what we have, and how the events played out on raceday, I think we had a good race. And I'll admit: I was skeptical with Cup cars at WWT Raceway when they made this announcement several years ago. But I have not been disappointed yet in a Cup race at the track.

Now we head to Wine Country and Sonoma Raceway! One of my favorite stops on the Cup Series circuit and probably my favorite road course overall. It should be some fantastic racing on the right and left turns this weekend. The Truck Series has a few weeks off so all we have to focus on is the Xfinity Series and Cup Series. The Xfinity folks take to the track on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. EST on FS1 for the Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250. The Cup Series will cap off the weekend on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. EST with the Toyota/SaveMart 350 on FOX.

Picks:

Cup = Kyle Larson

Xfinity = Justin Allgaier

Header Photo: Sean Gardner/Getty Images