By Tyler Head
Austin Cindric took the checkered flag to win the 64th running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday at Daytona International Speedway. Cindric, in only his eighth Cup start, picked up his first career victory in NASCAR’s top series. The race was also the beginning of NASCAR’s new NextGen era and it’s fitting that a young talent took home the trophy.
A Star in the Making
Austin Cindric was far from a fan favorite when he broke into NASCAR’s national ranks back in 2017 in the Camping World Truck Series. Many, including myself, thought he was just another rich kid getting opportunities because of family connections (his father Tim is president at Team Penske.) Boy we couldn’t have been more wrong. Cindric has matured and become one of the most diverse racing talents in all of NASCAR. He’s already an Xfinity Series champion and he flexed his muscle in limited Cup starts last season. I was expecting a strong rookie campaign in 2022 for him, but I didn’t think that would include him winning the Daytona 500. He drove an extremely smart race and when it came down to the end no one seem to have anything for him. He made his car several lanes wide in the run to the checkers to stall out Ryan Blaney’s run to his outside and then thwarted Bubba Wallace’s move to the inside at the line. Now he finds himself locked into the Playoffs with plenty more opportunities to get additional wins.
A New Era
As the field was coming to take the green flag to start the race, I found myself thinking back to 2019 when the NextGen project was officially announced. In the three years since, I’ve indulged on every detail about the car so excited to see NASCAR’s future vehicle take shape. Today the NextGen era officially began with its first points paying event and I must say it exceeded my expectations. The racing was incredible all day long and I was pleased to see the ability the car had to move around and draft. There were a number of hard hits throughout the day, and I held my breath on each one as the car’s safety elements have been scrutinized in recent months. That being said, everybody walked away safe and healthy from today’s race and I can rest my mind knowing this.
Tough Day for Brad K
Brad Keselowski got plenty of airtime over the course of today’s 500 miles. His race high 67 laps led certainly played a part, but the bigger story was the accidents that were triggered by his front bumper. In the closing laps of stage 1, Brad turned Harrison Burton’s 21 car as they were exiting turn 2 and the day’s first ‘Big One’ would ensue, highlighted by Burton’s car flipping down the backstretch. Keselowski is known to be an aggressive superspeedway racer and perhaps that incident could have been chalked up to fine tuning draft techniques in the NextGen car, but lightning would strike twice. With five laps to go, the 6 car was again the culprit of a wreck, this time it was Ricky Stenhouse Jr. going for a spin off the front bumper. Brad is one of the most accomplished superspeedway racers in all of NASCAR, but today he certainly didn’t make many friends.
Almost
It’s not easy being Bubba Wallace. He’s placed under a microscope in everything he does both on and off the track. Despite winning his first career Cup race last fall at Talladega, his naysayers quickly point out it was a rain shortened win and therefore ‘doesn’t count’ in their eyes. The Daytona 500 was shaping up to be the perfect opportunity to quiet that crowd once and for all. Wallace drove an incredible race and keep his nose clean for most of it as he watched his Toyota teammates fall to crash after crash. Wallace led 12 laps and was going toe to toe with the powerhouse Ford’s in the races late stage’s before suffering fender damage in the Stenhouse wreck. Despite this, Wallace held his track position and had eyes on Cindric as the field approached the checkered flag. Cindric came down and Wallace pulled low to avoid contact and that proved to be just enough for the 2 to reach the finish line first. It was a day to be proud of for Bubba and the 23 team, but a tough pill to swallow none the less.
Sunshine State
Anytime NASCAR heads to Daytona, the threat of rain is always a concern. With the past two season openers dampened by the pesky Florida showers, I was extremely nervous that yet another NASCAR season was doomed to running its biggest race into the wee hours of the morning or just pushing the whole thing to Monday all together. Mother Nature smiled up Daytona this time around and with all the momentum coming off the Clash at the Coliseum, I really hope there were lots of eyes on the 500 in its normal time slot.
