By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
It takes a lifetime for many drivers to win the historic Daytona 500. Some Hall of Fame-worthy drivers never checked the marquee event off their bucket list.
In just his second attempt, Discount Tires-sponsored Austin Cindric won the Dayton 500 on Sunday. He won the race in overtime at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.
A late block gave Cindric the win. He held off Ryan Blaney, who crashed moments later.
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When he drafted back down after blocking Blaney, he held off Bubba Wallace to get the win.
“I have so many people that I need to thank,” Cindric said to Fox Sports reporter Jamie Little after getting the win. “Most importantly, Roger Penske (car owner). Ryan Blaney is a great teammate and wants to win this one. I’m so excited. It makes up for the championship I missed in the last race I did (missed out on the 2021 Xfinity Series Championship that went to Daniel Henrik).”
He’ll now be forever known as a Daytona 500 winner. Cindric is the first driver to win with the new Next Gen car, as well.
This was just his eighth NASCAR Cup Series event. The 23-year-old captured his first win in the series at their biggest event of the year.
Cindric received the Cup Series ride when Brad Keselowski transitioned to an ownership/driver role with Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing in the offseason.
He is the second-youngest driver to win this prestigious event. In 2011, Trevor Bayne was 20-years-old when he won with the Wood Brothers.
Roger Penske — who celebrated a birthday on Sunday — has now won the Daytona 500 five times. Each time he has won it, he has had a different driver win.
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Wallace picked up his second second-place finish at the Daytona 500. His first second-place finish came at the 2018 Daytona 500 when he finished behind Austin Dillon.
Chase Briscoe finished third. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver picked up his best finish in 37 Cup Series events.
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