After Sunday’s race at the Charlotte Roval, four drivers find themselves eliminated from the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. After over 30 races of strong performances, these drivers can no longer go for the championship. Seems frustrating, right? Austin Cindric is one of those drivers. Although he did finish the race in the 4th position, his entry to the round of 8 was not meant to be.

Austin Cindric did not have a highly favorable season this year. Near misses, unanticipated wrecks, and minute mistakes cost him his position this playoff, but in the aftermath of the Charlotte race, he carries a sense of hope despite not making it to the round of 8. 

Austin Cindric makes peace with Championship misfortune

A 4th place finish at the Charlotte Roval should have been enough to qualify for the next round, right? For Austin Cindric, even a 4th place finish could not save his Championship hopes. The round of 12 has been a playoff stage to forget for the driver. First, a crash in Kansas made him place his bets on the Talladega race. When that failed, it was a tense Charlotte race that didn’t go his way, as the only thing that could save him, a win, was out of his reach.

Following the Bank of America ROVAL 400, Cindric opened up about his failed campaign in an interview with Peter Stratta. He said,” I mean it’s always an effect right? We got big scorecards cutting big score holes in the air. I don’t think it’s ever going to go away, but yes hard to pass, and hard to save one for sure but nothing changes there. I mean there is not enough to surprise me and complain about it”. Cindric was already 29 points below the cutline after the YellaWood 500. Without any notable points in the Roval and unable to go for the first position, the team Penske star ended up out of the battle.

Cindric started the race from the fifth position on the grid and his vigor kept him in the top 10 throughout the 109-lap race. However, he could not manage to take the lead from Kyle Larson. He made it to 4th-place and stayed there, marking the third time in the Top 5 for this season. Despite this, it remains an impressive finish, especially since the Charlotte Speedway had massive changes the drivers had just a weekend to get used to. 

Despite his efforts, it seems like luck hasn’t been much in his favor. His points were greatly affected due to the major mishaps at the YellaWood 500. Cindric who was in the lead for the race was bumped by Keselowski and it got the former driver in a chaotic wreck. He ended up finishing the race at 32nd position. This finish cost him a fortune and completely took down his points, pushing him to the danger zone. 

Austin mentioned “I mean it’s disappointing because we had the speed in the races to be able to make it and even with the mistake I made at Kansas, if we didn’t get wrecked at Talladega, I feel we would have advanced today. Boy math in my head …but you know that’s what racing is about right? We should go back and run for Season 2. I have always said…in the playoffs, you run the most about yourself, not the most about competition and I feel like we proved a lot to ourselves. It seemed like a calling”.

Cindric seems optimistic about his run in the next season. Recollecting his performance on the field, Cindric lamented about his performance at the Kansas Speedway too. The track had witnessed that with only 7 laps remaining for Stage 2, Cindric made contact with Busch. This contact made him lose grip of the steering and spin on the track. He ended the race in the 34th position with the worst finish of all time. 

While Cindric laments the disappointing Charlotte results, Team Penske might have a different outlook, after Joey Logano received a lifeline despite missing out on the playoffs.

Team Penske saved from the chopping block by the barest margins

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It seems as though a string of misfortunes has struck the entire Penske Team. Along with Cindric in the disqualification is none other than his team member Joey Logano. With a difference of only 4 points, Logano currently stands out of the margin for the playoffs. Although finishing 8th is a good run, to secure a position in the playoffs, he had to beat Tyler Reddick or Chase Elliott by a good margin. However, this did not happen. 

The battle became tougher for Logano after he failed to put up an impressive feat at both Kansas Speedway and the Talladega Superspeedway. The Kansas Speedway saw Logano finishing up at the 14th position. His hopes of making it up in Talladega were also in the doldrums after was a part of the Big One. With a clear target, Joey Logano knew had to beat Reddick and Elliott but managed only 8th with Elliott in 5th place. 

Things looked bleak for Team Penske. Before the race, Blaney, Logano, and Cindric had all been in contention for a spot in the next round. With Cindric effectively ruled out and Logano’s finish, it looked like it was just Ryan Blaney who went through. The breakthrough came when Hendrick Motorsport driver Alex Bowman, who had initially qualified for the round of 8, was disqualified after a post-race inspection revealed his car was underweight.

Essentially, it comes as a saving grace for Logano and Team Penske as it put Joey Logano in the round of 8. More importantly, it kept Joey Logano’s 10-year streak of potentially going through to the Championship 4 in even-numbered years. This might just be the wake-up call Joey Logano needs in order to dominate the remaining races in the championship race.