TALLADEGA, Ala. – Austin Cindric held the field at bay in the closing laps in the Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega, earning his third career victory on Sunday.
Cindric, the Columbus, Ohio native, took control of the race following the final pit cycle. As the pack thundered toward the checkered flag, he fended off Ryan Preece by 0.022 seconds.
“I’m just so proud of this team,” Cindric told Regan Smith of FOX Sports. He thanked Penske Racing for the support and was thrilled to get in the playoffs in front of a packed crowd.
Cindric had run up front at drafting tracks like Talladega, Daytona and Atlanta. Despite leading 242 laps in his last six at drafting ovals, he had yet to win, particularly with Menards on the car.
“I've been trying for probably three, four years now, to get a Cup win for John Menard,” Cindric said. He gave Menard a trip to victory lane while punching his team a ticket to the 2025 Playoffs.
As the laps wound down, Cindric found himself alongside Preece and had Kyle Larson behind.
Crindric said, “Kyle [Larson] did a lot to take care of me, pushing me at the right times in the right direction.”
The two drivers raced clean, putting aside a tangle in the Spring Atlanta race. Larson threw a block that sent Cindric’s No. 2 car into the wall, ultimately costing him a shot at the victory.
“As mad as I was at him after Atlanta, I feel like we're good now,” Cindric said regarding Larson. With the win, Cindric advanced to 14th in the series points.
However, that triumph came at the expense of Preece. Unfortunately for Preece, he and fellow Ford driver Joey Logano were disqualified in post-race tech for spoiler violations.
Both were stripped of their top-five finishes, including the stage points they earned. Preece was relegated to a 38th place result while Logano was dropped from fifth to the 39th position.
Kyle Larson and Bubba Wallace took home the stage wins, earning 18 and 16 points respectively. Larson had a career day at Talladega, earning 54 points, the most of all drivers.
Superspeedways had been a struggle for Larson, he had only two finishes within the top five prior to Sunday. This aids Larson in his quest to dethrone Bryon for the top spot in the standings.
The Hendrick Motorsports teammates are now separated by 31 points entering the next race at Texas Motor Speedway. Coverage begins Sunday, May 4 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.