Austin Cindric is your 2022 Daytona 500 champion.
Contrary to the ones that will say this was luck or the ones that will compare it to Trevor Bayne or the ones that will say Cindric was only there because his dad is the president of Team Penske.
No, those people actually exist:
Austin Cindric should thank his dad for paying his way.
— 1970s Mac Jones (@TheJoeyMcNeely) February 20, 2022
Even after winning the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship and dominating the series in 2021, some folks are still not sold on Cindric.
Austin Cindric – the kid that won 11 races with the Xfinity Series over the past two years and finished 15th in his first Daytona 500 a year ago.
Austin Cindric – the guy who raced everything with four wheels in an engine and earned a X-Games bronze medal in RallyCross.
Austin Cindric – the youngest driver ever to compete in the Bathurst 1000 at 17-years old in 2015. Oh, and by the way he won that bronze when he was 16.
My point is, people are going to call this a fluke just to try and take away from the driver while also ignoring the fact he won last season’s Xfinity opener at Daytona.
He’s talented.
I never wrote an article or column on the top prospects in the sport last year (I might now, after all this), but if I had you can bet your ass that dude would be squarely No. 1.
That’s just the facts, folks.
The new driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford came up through every tour we watch, basically. He’s even got some USF2000 accolades to his name.
Cindric won the race on Sunday because he’s had experience in so many different cars. He’s an alternative version of Kyle Larson, to be honest.
It can go unnoticed because – and I’m the biggest RallyCross guy out there – RallyCross and minor league IndyCar doesn’t draw the spotlight like other things do.
But above everything and to save you a bit of time, we saw Cindric dueling next to Ryan Blaney, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Bubba Wallace. That’s the who’s who of superspeedway racing.
I’ll throw Brad Keselowski in there, but some may not be happy with that.
Cindric proved he’s one of them on Sunday, and the first win is the hardest to get.
All I’m saying is don’t be surprised when he wins again this year.
