By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
In one of the day’s biggest comeback performances, Austin Cindric finished third in Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Following a practice accident, early contact and multiple close calls, Cindric was there at the end in the caution-filled event.
“After everything that happened today, this is great,” Cindric said. “I would have just been happy to finish the thing not in the fence.”
With 13 cautions on the day, the chaos tied the most yellows in Texas history, as drivers throughout the field struggled for grip. Cindric made his way from the rear of the field to get himself into position on the race’s final restart with two laps to go.
“Every opportunity to be in the middle of something it seemed we were there,” he said. “It is just perseverance by everyone. The guys over the wall did an amazing job getting the right front fender fixed. We almost had a tire go down because of it.”
Overcoming the odds, Cindric scored his first top-five finish on a 1.5-mile track, also his fifth top five of 2018. It didn’t, however, solve his points situation, as the No. 22 driver sits 49 points behind the cutoff to the Championship 4 in Homestead.
“I am really thankful to still be in the playoffs and still have a shot to win a race,” he said. “We were a few bumps and bangs away from really benefiting from that one.”
Indeed, when leaders Tyler Reddick and Cole Custer made contact on the final lap, Cindric was hoping to squeeze by for career win No. 1.
“I was yelling all the way down the backstretch for something to happen,” he said. “I am thankful to everyone at Team Penske for really pushing hard this weekend. Obviously, it is no doubt that these guys are the best in the business. To be able to unload a backup car and have a top-three finish is unheard of.
“I am pumped. I am ready to go to Phoenix and go put on a show and have a little fun.”