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.
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.
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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